US carmaker Tesla has announced its intention to enter into pooling agreements with Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Stellantis, Alfa Romeo and Opel, according to the declaration it sent to the European Commission on Tuesday 7 January. Mercedes Benz has also announced its intention to team up with Volvo, Polestar and Smart.
According to Article 6 of the 2019 European regulation on CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars, manufacturers are free to enter into such agreements as long as they comply with the competition rules of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
According to the regulation, this measure “has proved to be a cost-effective way of achieving the targets”, as it offers “a degree of flexibility” to manufacturers. In effect, it allows those who do not meet the targets on their own to offset their excess emissions against those from groups that are emitting less than the authorised limit. All members of a pool shall in particular ensure that neither data sharing nor information exchange may occur in the context of their pooling agreement, except in respect of the following information: - average specific CO2 emissions; - specific emissions target; - the total number of vehicles registered. These agreements may not exceed five years, but are renewable.
The regulation also specifies that, for each calendar year, where a manufacturer’s average specific emissions of CO2 exceed its specific emissions target, the Commission will require the manufacturer or, where applicable, the pool manager, to pay an excess emissions premium equivalent to €95 per excess emission per newly registered vehicle.
The strategic dialogue on the future of the European automotive industry will start in January (see EUROPE 13549/7).
Read the declaration of intent: https://aeur.eu/f/eze (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)