➡️ Tell us about E-Mobility Europe and why it is important.

E-mobility Europe is the trade association for Europe’s electric vehicle ecosystem. We’re an association with over 80 members from across Europe, comprising front-running electric vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure providers, the supply chain, fleet owners, technology and all of the European electric vehicle associations as well. So, in Brussels, we provide a united and proactive voice in favour of the transition to electric cars for the 2035 CO2 limits and, of course, try to put forward constructive recommendations for what we need to get there in a way that’s working for Europe’s people, but also for its industries in the transition. So I’d say we’re an important voice, because 1. we’re the only association that brings that ecosystem together, and 2. because we try and focus on solutions and finding ways to get to these objectives in the right, practical way.

➡️ How would you describe the current state of EV adoption in Europe? Is the EU on track to meet the electrification rates and targets for 2030 and 2050?

I think that Europe is on track for where it needs to be today. 2025 is going to be a very decisive year to determine if we make the progress we need. There’s been widely reported stagnation in the European market for electric vehicles in the last year. To a large extent, some of that was expected because Europe’s new CO2 limits and standards kick in in 2025 so it’s always been the plan that this will be a big ramp-up year, 2025, where we need to be bringing more electric vehicles to the market. That’s why we see loads of new, affordable electric cars coming out this year – 11 below €25,000. And we expect 2025 to be a big year for raising those sales. So the plateauing of the recent years was in some way forecast. There are other things that haven’t made it better, especially [when] Germany removed a subsidy at the end of 2023, which was adding massive downward pressure on the German electric car market, which has [then] impacted Europe overall. So I think we’re in a good place. I think that at the end of last year, 15-16% of sales were electric. That needs to rise to well over 20% in 2025. We would be in a better place if all of the member states had stable and smart incentives in place to help that transition too. So there’s still work to do to join all of those efforts –that all has to come together this year when the new CO2 limits come in.

➡️ We often see a polarised debate on electrification. Carmakers blame tough regulations and slow demand, and policymakers blame the lack of investment and commitment drive by carmakers. In your opinion, what are the major challenges to EV uptake in Europe today?

I think consumers are confused. Consumers need affordable, reliable, electric cars that they can purchase and drive to meet their needs. Until now, we haven’t had the affordability option checked. We hope that changes this year, as I’ve said, 11 new models under €25,000. On charging availability, from our perspective, charging rollout is less of a bottleneck than what is often read in the media. Charging rollout is happening at pace. We’re meeting beyond Europe’s minimum obligations in 26 out of 27 member states; I heard a statistic from one of our members that most charging points across Europe could take 5-7 more times electric cars than what they currently have. Charging is in place, but because customers/consumers need to feel comfortable with the experience of using it, the reliability of charging probably then needs to be improved. But we also need to provide consistent messages about the benefits of electric cars that they don’t have to be such a challenge as is often made out. So I think there are still bottlenecks, of course, for all people to be taking on electric cars, but in 2025 we will solve many of them with more affordable car options, hopefully better communication around the fact that there are charging points there to drive those cars around. And if we can do that, then we should see some of the progress we need. But for sure, that doesn’t happen overnight, and I think it will be a continued process to bring everyone on board across the next years.

➡️ Do you think policymakers in the EU and the UK should revise the targets for zero-emission car sales this year? Is there a need for flexibility?

From our side, that’s a strong no. The 2025 CO2 limits have been known about since 2017; they’re in place this year. We view them as achievable and also very necessary to stimulate and bring a big sales push for electric cars throughout 2025. The reality is that Europe is looking at flexibilities to its 2025 CO2 limits that will be announced on 5 March – what those flexibilities look like. We’re very concerned about any options which deflate pressure on the electric vehicle market this year. As I’ve mentioned, it’s a really critical year to push electric cars and get sales up. If we’re taking the CO2 limits away or deflating the ambition, then there’s a much less stronger need to make EVs super attractive to consumers across Europe. So from our side, the CO2 limits have to remain in place. They’re necessary. They’re also necessary, by the way, not just for selling cars, but for investing in the charging infrastructure we need because that’s dependent on reliable volumes of electric cars; also for giving confidence in the battery industry that we’re trying to develop, which is in a very critical state today.

There was an analyst last week who said that, basically, if we add flexibilities, he’d see it as a sort of, I think it was a death sentence for Europe’s battery ambitions. There’s a lot at play. We obviously have to make all of this work together. We have to make demand work for the EVs, make sure the conditions are right for charging and for batteries. From our side, the CO2 limits aren’t the problem. If we need to focus on anything, let’s improve the market conditions for selling electric cars, because the better and easier we make it to sell electric cars, the less likely any bad consequences from these limits come into place and that’s good for all of us.

➡️ Talking about the domestic manufacturing industry for EVs, batteries, and related supply chains, do you think the Clean Industrial Deal published last week goes far enough to ensure that Europe remains competitive?

The Clean Industrial Deal published last week was a statement of Europe’s focus on competitiveness for the next five years. It laid out ambitions; we still need to see actions to back that up and the really tangible actions that are required if we want to catch up on supply chains, on technologies and on other parts of the electric vehicle ecosystem, because the reality is China has a massive lead in several of these areas. It controls 90% of the world’s battery production. Its software is world-leading, and it’s done so after 10 years of careful state planning. So that’s not going to be overturned overnight. It needs a real paradigm shift in how the EU is approaching this from our side. That starts with going all in on electric vehicles. We need to say this is the technology that we have to be competitive for. We have to make it competitive to produce electric vehicles. And we have to make it competitive to make the batteries, the components that go into them as well, and go all in on driving that forwards. And as I was saying earlier, all starts with demand. We have to create a healthy market in Europe to sell electric vehicles and then give confidence to customers that they should invest here too. So we’d like to see more coming after the clean industrial plan.

I think a few things to point out, firstly, stronger financial support for battery investments. Europe has a big competitiveness gap, not only with China, but also the US after the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA]. We’re still yet to see anything rivalling the IRA here in Europe. That needs to change if we’re really serious about giving some of our up-and-coming battery companies the conditions they need to scale up and to compete in a very harsh global environment. And then the other thing we hope to see is big actions to strengthen Europe’s grid, which needs support to build up its capacity so that when we bring all of these electric cars onto the market in the next years, the grid is ready to take it. The charging installations happen at pace, and we can benefit [from it].

➡️ Do you think countries should subsidise the purchase of EVs to unlock further private demand? Which markets could benefit the most from such incentives?

Yes, member states across Europe have all signed up to the digital for zero-emission car sales, and we think we need that governments across Europe need to take their responsibility to improve the market conditions. Incentives are an important part of that but crucial is that these are smart and sustainable incentives, and not the stop-go subsidies that we’ve seen have created problems in the market, for example, in Germany. So the countries that have been most successful have gone beyond just subsidising and done things, for example, with their tax rules. So advancing electric vehicles in tax rules while removing all of the advantages for internal combustion engines and combining that with a package of non-financial incentives, like letting electric cars drive in bus lanes or giving them free parking spaces, things which consumers see as a big advantage for buying EVs. There are ways to do this which are less impactful on fiscal resources of governments, and we think that needs to be the way forwards. Find a budget-balanced way to advantage EVs, make it attractive to consumers, and then we’ll see EV uptake as we have in the Nordic markets, in particular, where that’s been a dominant strategy. So there’s still work to do there. We expect the European Commission will, this week, come out with a commitment to make guidance for member states about what type of incentives are most impactful, and I think, really smart, sustainable ways to promote EV use without breaking the bank. That’s the future to go towards with.

➡️ Do you think European carmakers and the EV industry in Europe are benefiting from the countervailing tariffs the EU has imposed on China-made BEVs?

We still have to see impacts. I think is important to stress that all parts of the car industry are global, and all of the geopolitical tensions and frictions, not just from China, but now from the US, are adding a lot of burdens and barriers onto those global supply chains and functioning. So across the next years, I think this geopolitics has the potential to be very disruptive for European producers and has to be taken care of. The Chinese tariffs – they are one thing that has happened, they’ve been challenged by many carmakers. There’s concerns about a lot of different things there. We also have to look at what impact they have on what vehicles are now coming into Europe. Tariffs kind of forced the Chinese to prioritise more ICE vehicles into Europe, more plug-in hybrids into Europe, which is not necessarily the outcome that was intended. The intention was to give a boost to the electric vehicle manufacturing we have here in Europe as well. So that needs to be monitored carefully. We also need to reflect on the bigger geopolitics happening and the tensions in the US, which would be very damaging as well for competitiveness, and find a way forward that allows our industry to remain competitive and accessing everything it needs to. It’s a very tricky time geopolitically.

➡️ To finalise, what would you like to see in the upcoming automotive plan? And what’s your message to policymakers and the industry as a whole? How can electrification plans move forward?

For the automotive action plan to move forwards, we’re convinced that we have to keep on pace towards 2025 the CO2 limits for this year need to remain in place – so that we are pushing electric vehicles through the year. But we should combine that with a big demand push – EU and national level actions to better incentivise electric car uptake across consumers – and parallel actions to boost the competitiveness of value chain – much stronger support for battery manufacturing to improve our security of supply, and anything we can do to speed up the rate of charging installations across the continent too. So we think there’s a strong wave possible for Europe, if we keep those targets in place and add enabling conditions for demand and competitiveness. At the same time, we’re concerned about a situation where Europe takes a step back, decides not to try this year before we’ve even got through it and ends up in another period of stagnation, which can be a very damaging trajectory towards 2035. Our overall call is: let’s stay the course. Let’s share responsibility across everyone, across governments, across the industry, and not just put it on one actor. But let’s go all in and make a success of this and not step back at a really critical time to go forwards.