Photo: Nio
After the so-called Qatargate corruption scandal, suspicions have emerged that the controversial Fit for 55 program regarding the ban of combustion engines in Europe starting January 1st, 2035, could be influenced by foreign interests.
A few days ago, the corruption scandal over possible interference of Qatar in the European Union's decision-making and legislative process rocked the world, just as the soccer World Cup took place in Qatar.
And this development has opened Pandora's box. After the so-called Qatargate, the president of Confindustria (General Confederation of Italian Industry), Carlo Bonomi, wondered whether the decisions on the controversial Fit for 55 plan to reduce emissions by 55% before 2030 and eventually ban combustion engines in Europe from January 1st, 2035 were influenced by forces outside Europe.
This is a harsh but legitimate question given current developments and points out that decisions at a European level directly influence the future of the European industry. The decision to ban combustion engines from January 1st, 2035 is controversial because of the social and economic implications.
Carlo Bonomi said: "I understand that based on a single episode, the EU institutions should not be called into question, but I want to make sure that when industrial policy choices are made in Europe, there is full knowledge of these decisions."
Bonomi raises a legitimate suspicion since the Fit for 55 plan is very controversial and raises many questions. But who outside the EU would be interested in promoting this plan?
The first thought leads us to the Chinese. They are the ones who have been trying to penetrate the European car market for years. In the era of the ICEs, they have failed to do so despite several unsuccessful attempts with clones of European models or with their own, home-brewed models. The internal combustion engine is a highly complex assembly, and the Chinese have never managed to create power units as efficient and good as the Europeans.
But things have changed in the electric era. The electric motor is much simpler to build, so the Chinese have become competitive in terms of electric cars. In addition, they are close to having a monopoly on the supply of lithium, the primary raw material for producing batteries for electric vehicles, and as a result, some European manufacturers have started producing electric models in China for the European market. And today Chinese electric car manufacturers are storming the European market as well.
So, is the Fit for 55 plan just the concern of the Green Party in Europe, or are there other interests at stake?
Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, said that an electric car has only 200 components compared to 1,200 in a combustion engine car. The transition to the electric era will lead to job losses in many areas. There will no longer be a need for cast iron or aluminum engine blocks, but also connecting rods, pistons, injection systems, or emission control systems.
Countries with a strong car industry, such as Germany, France, and Italy, but also countries with many car production plants on their territory, such as Poland, Czech Republic, or Slovakia, will be significantly affected and will lose tens of thousands of jobs.
More and more car industry executives are questioning the usefulness of the Fit for 55 plan. Akira Marumoto, Mazda's CEO, said it makes no sense to increase sales of electric cars in a country where energy production is based on coal and oil. Marumoto added that the auto industry alone could not achieve the goal of bringing us a climate neutrality.
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW AG, also stated that, when estimating the pollution emitted by a car, the whole life cycle of a that car should be considered, including the pollution caused by the production of that it. Zipse referred to the emissions created by the construction of a battery for electric vehicles.
It is dubious that EU officials have refused any alternatives to electric propulsion. Porsche has been working on synthetic fuels for several years and promises they are as eco-friendly as electric propulsion. The Germans have invested $75 million in a pilot plant in Chile, where they produce synthetic fuels. But not even these fuels will be accepted after January 2035 in Europe.
PHEV models will also be banned from that moment on, even though manufacturers have been investing a lot in this form of mixed propulsion and have been constantly increasing the electric range of PHEVs, allowing them to travel electrically in large cities over a long enough distance. On top of all this, Russia's aggression in Ukraine has led to an energy crisis that has made electricity more expensive.
This past summer, a number of countries were faced with various power outages caused by the intensive use of air conditioning systems. So what would happen if one million electric cars hit the road in hot summers?
Europe also needs to catch up in building power stations. According to data provided by ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association), there are currently just over 300,000 stations, and 1.5 million are required by 2025 and 3 million by 2030. Who will build them?
Therefore, the issue raised by Carlo Bonomi is legitimate. The Fit for 55 plan may create significant turbulence in the EU with consequences that are hard to calculate. At the same time, on other continents, environmental protection policy is flexible, which makes Europe's efforts useless.
And as long as we need more green energy to power all-electric cars and the battery production process is very polluting, we wonder what the purpose of the Fit for 55 plan is.
And this development has opened Pandora's box. After the so-called Qatargate, the president of Confindustria (General Confederation of Italian Industry), Carlo Bonomi, wondered whether the decisions on the controversial Fit for 55 plan to reduce emissions by 55% before 2030 and eventually ban combustion engines in Europe from January 1st, 2035 were influenced by forces outside Europe.
This is a harsh but legitimate question given current developments and points out that decisions at a European level directly influence the future of the European industry. The decision to ban combustion engines from January 1st, 2035 is controversial because of the social and economic implications.
Carlo Bonomi said: "I understand that based on a single episode, the EU institutions should not be called into question, but I want to make sure that when industrial policy choices are made in Europe, there is full knowledge of these decisions."
Bonomi raises a legitimate suspicion since the Fit for 55 plan is very controversial and raises many questions. But who outside the EU would be interested in promoting this plan?
The first thought leads us to the Chinese. They are the ones who have been trying to penetrate the European car market for years. In the era of the ICEs, they have failed to do so despite several unsuccessful attempts with clones of European models or with their own, home-brewed models. The internal combustion engine is a highly complex assembly, and the Chinese have never managed to create power units as efficient and good as the Europeans.
But things have changed in the electric era. The electric motor is much simpler to build, so the Chinese have become competitive in terms of electric cars. In addition, they are close to having a monopoly on the supply of lithium, the primary raw material for producing batteries for electric vehicles, and as a result, some European manufacturers have started producing electric models in China for the European market. And today Chinese electric car manufacturers are storming the European market as well.
So, is the Fit for 55 plan just the concern of the Green Party in Europe, or are there other interests at stake?
Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, said that an electric car has only 200 components compared to 1,200 in a combustion engine car. The transition to the electric era will lead to job losses in many areas. There will no longer be a need for cast iron or aluminum engine blocks, but also connecting rods, pistons, injection systems, or emission control systems.
Countries with a strong car industry, such as Germany, France, and Italy, but also countries with many car production plants on their territory, such as Poland, Czech Republic, or Slovakia, will be significantly affected and will lose tens of thousands of jobs.
More and more car industry executives are questioning the usefulness of the Fit for 55 plan. Akira Marumoto, Mazda's CEO, said it makes no sense to increase sales of electric cars in a country where energy production is based on coal and oil. Marumoto added that the auto industry alone could not achieve the goal of bringing us a climate neutrality.
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW AG, also stated that, when estimating the pollution emitted by a car, the whole life cycle of a that car should be considered, including the pollution caused by the production of that it. Zipse referred to the emissions created by the construction of a battery for electric vehicles.
It is dubious that EU officials have refused any alternatives to electric propulsion. Porsche has been working on synthetic fuels for several years and promises they are as eco-friendly as electric propulsion. The Germans have invested $75 million in a pilot plant in Chile, where they produce synthetic fuels. But not even these fuels will be accepted after January 2035 in Europe.
PHEV models will also be banned from that moment on, even though manufacturers have been investing a lot in this form of mixed propulsion and have been constantly increasing the electric range of PHEVs, allowing them to travel electrically in large cities over a long enough distance. On top of all this, Russia's aggression in Ukraine has led to an energy crisis that has made electricity more expensive.
This past summer, a number of countries were faced with various power outages caused by the intensive use of air conditioning systems. So what would happen if one million electric cars hit the road in hot summers?
Europe also needs to catch up in building power stations. According to data provided by ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association), there are currently just over 300,000 stations, and 1.5 million are required by 2025 and 3 million by 2030. Who will build them?
Therefore, the issue raised by Carlo Bonomi is legitimate. The Fit for 55 plan may create significant turbulence in the EU with consequences that are hard to calculate. At the same time, on other continents, environmental protection policy is flexible, which makes Europe's efforts useless.
And as long as we need more green energy to power all-electric cars and the battery production process is very polluting, we wonder what the purpose of the Fit for 55 plan is.
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