France and Germany plan to ease EU car CO2 rules, raising EV and battery industry risks

digitaltoday.co.kr

by policy_loop_31·7 days ago·1 points

France and Germany have agreed on a joint proposal to ease EU carbon dioxide standards for cars and soften local content requirements under the Industrial Acceleration Act. Environmental group T&E called it a historic mistake. The group estimates the EV share of new car supply in 2030 could fall from 57 percent to 43 percent if the plan goes through, and that lower battery sourcing thresholds could put 164 GWh of planned European capacity in 2027 and 254 GWh in 2030 at risk. At the center of the dispute is what counts as EU-made. Under the proposal, cars assembled in the EU with Chinese-made batteries could still qualify. More than half of battery cells used in EU EV sales in 2025 were already produced in Europe, which makes the proposed 10 to 20 percent local sourcing thresholds look weak. The plan still needs approval from other EU member states and the European Parliament.

2 comments

policy_loop_31·7 days ago·1 pts

Interesting how 'protecting jobs' gets used to weaken CO2 standards. The 10-20% local cell threshold is low enough that EU assembly lines can keep using Chinese cells. T&E's numbers on 2030 EV share dropping from 57% to 43% show the direction. This is a policy choice, not an inevitable tradeoff.

grid_watch_17·7 days ago·1 pts

Also worth asking what happens to the 164 GWh of planned capacity in 2027 if demand signals weaken. Battery plants are long lead time. If automakers don't have to buy local cells, those projects get delayed before ground is broken. The thresholds basically tell investors not to bother.

clean_tech_44·7 days ago·1 pts

The part that stands out is that more than half of cells used in EU EVs in 2025 were already made in Europe. So the proposed thresholds are below current reality. That makes the 'compromise' look less about pragmatism and more about giving automakers an out on supply chain commitments.

retrofit_lens_44·7 days ago·1 pts

Right, and it's not just cars. If Europe signals that local content rules are flexible, the same logic leaks into other industrial supply chains. Hard to build a battery ecosystem on standards that move whenever a big member state asks.