The BMW Group held the General Meeting of Shareholders this week, in Munich. BMW's CEO, Norbert Reithofer didn't miss the chance to speak up, in the name of all European car manufacturers, and complain about the legislation of the EU.
According to Reithofer, the ambitious goals set by the EU regarding CO2 emissions are almost impossible to meet in a constructive way, if something doesn't change, in order to allow European companies to keep up with the US and China.
“The EU calls for alternative drive trains, but only credits manufacturers with a factor of 1.5 for using them – while the same technology is credited with a factor of 5 in China and a factor of 2 in the US. That seems inconsistent to me,” said Reithofer.
Furthermore, he accused these new numbers to be just political talk and day-dreaming as they are not based on any kind of analysis or feasibility tests.
“In Europe, politicians are calling for a fleet average of 95 grams CO2 per kilometer in 2020. This target requires billions in investment, especially on the part of German automakers […] This is all about political wish-lists, and has nothing to do with technical analysis or feasibility … At some point, politicians will go a step too far, ” added BMW's CEO.
“The EU calls for alternative drive trains, but only credits manufacturers with a factor of 1.5 for using them – while the same technology is credited with a factor of 5 in China and a factor of 2 in the US. That seems inconsistent to me,” said Reithofer.
Furthermore, he accused these new numbers to be just political talk and day-dreaming as they are not based on any kind of analysis or feasibility tests.
“In Europe, politicians are calling for a fleet average of 95 grams CO2 per kilometer in 2020. This target requires billions in investment, especially on the part of German automakers […] This is all about political wish-lists, and has nothing to do with technical analysis or feasibility … At some point, politicians will go a step too far, ” added BMW's CEO.