Photo: Ferrari
On the cusp of Europe instituting their ban on combustion engines, Italy is hoping to find a loophole that will allow famous carmakers Ferrari NV and Lamborghini SpA to dodge those proposed restrictions.
Officials of the Italian government are now in talks with the European Union aimed at protecting supercar makers from the ban which is currently slated to go into effect by 2035.
Roberto Cingolani, Italian Minister for Ecological Transition, says that while Rome is on board with the EU commitment to cut emissions, the supercar sector “is a niche, and there are ongoing discussions with the EU Commission” on ways supercar builders - who sell relatively small numbers of polluting vehicles - can make an end-run around the ban.
Cingolani made his remarks to Bloomberg TV at the Ambrosetti Forum. He said supercars require “special technology” and that they call for "specific batteries to make the transition.“
He added that an important component of the plan is for Italy to gain “autonomy in producing high-performance batteries” and for that to happen, Italy will need a “giga-factory program” to allow for large-scale battery production.
The phase-out plan will prove a challenge for luxury vehicle producers as their models tend to have high-powered engines which create above-average levels of pollution.
As the EU is still in the early stages of planning the ban, and the discussion process is likely to take up to two years, Italy is not alone in proposing amendments that would protect their auto industry.
The French have already balked at elements of the new plan and officials are calling for considerably more lenient emissions targets. Paris currently says they’d be in favor of limits that would reduce emissions from cars 55% by 2030.
“For very small manufacturers, who in the bigger picture of overall emissions play almost no role, there are good arguments for considering these exemptions,” said Oliver Zipse, the President of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association during the IAA car show in Munich.
For their part, Italians argue that since Ferrari sold around 9,100 vehicles in 2020 and Lamborghini sales totaled around 7,400 units, the small numbers don’t justify including them in the ban.
That could be good news for the teams in Maranello and Sant'Agata Bolognese.
Roberto Cingolani, Italian Minister for Ecological Transition, says that while Rome is on board with the EU commitment to cut emissions, the supercar sector “is a niche, and there are ongoing discussions with the EU Commission” on ways supercar builders - who sell relatively small numbers of polluting vehicles - can make an end-run around the ban.
Cingolani made his remarks to Bloomberg TV at the Ambrosetti Forum. He said supercars require “special technology” and that they call for "specific batteries to make the transition.“
He added that an important component of the plan is for Italy to gain “autonomy in producing high-performance batteries” and for that to happen, Italy will need a “giga-factory program” to allow for large-scale battery production.
The phase-out plan will prove a challenge for luxury vehicle producers as their models tend to have high-powered engines which create above-average levels of pollution.
As the EU is still in the early stages of planning the ban, and the discussion process is likely to take up to two years, Italy is not alone in proposing amendments that would protect their auto industry.
The French have already balked at elements of the new plan and officials are calling for considerably more lenient emissions targets. Paris currently says they’d be in favor of limits that would reduce emissions from cars 55% by 2030.
“For very small manufacturers, who in the bigger picture of overall emissions play almost no role, there are good arguments for considering these exemptions,” said Oliver Zipse, the President of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association during the IAA car show in Munich.
For their part, Italians argue that since Ferrari sold around 9,100 vehicles in 2020 and Lamborghini sales totaled around 7,400 units, the small numbers don’t justify including them in the ban.
That could be good news for the teams in Maranello and Sant'Agata Bolognese.
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