On Wednesday 5 March, the European Commission will present its EU Industrial Action Plan for the automotive sector, following the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Automotive Industry launched in January (see EUROPE 13569/5). According to the document obtained by Agence Europe on Tuesday 4 March, the Commission has prepared a series of flagship actions to support the sector in its green and digital transition.
Clean mobility. As announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday 3 March, an amendment to the regulation on CO2 standards will be proposed to give car manufacturers three years to comply (see EUROPE 13591/12).
With regard to transport infrastructure, the European Clean Transport Corridor initiative will be presented in the third quarter of 2025. Some €570 million will be made available under the ‘Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility’ in 2025 and 2026. The Commission will prepare guidance and recommendations to shorten grid connection procedures. In the second quarter, it will draw up guiding principles regarding anticipatory grid investments.
As part of the review of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (‘AFIR’) in 2026, the Commission will examine the possibilities for further strengthening price transparency at publicly available charging points, taking into account relevant market developments (see EUROPE 13568/12).
To strengthen consumer confidence in battery electric vehicles, the Commission will assess the broader issue of battery repairability and take regulatory measures to ensure access to battery health information in the battery passport, and access to battery repair and maintenance information.
Before the end of the month, the Commission will also issue recommendations on poverty in transport, including social rental schemes. At the end of the year, it will present a legislative initiative to decarbonise company fleets.
Innovation and digitalisation. Also announced by Mrs von der Leyen, the Commission will work with the Member States to rapidly establish at least three large-scale cross-border test centres for automated driving starting in 2026. This should stimulate market preparation and the commercialisation of autonomous vehicles.
A ‘European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance’ will be created in 2025. It will carry out a number of key activities: - develop an in-vehicle computing architecture for Software-Defined Vehicles; - develop innovative artificial intelligence solutions for the automotive industry; - create a large-scale distributed pilot facility in 2026-2027; - accelerate the transition towards autonomous driving. For the years 2025 to 2027, the dedicated budget is €362 million, as part of Horizon Europe’s overall contribution to the automotive sector.
This year, the Commission will propose legislation on access to vehicle data, to enable the entire automotive ecosystem to benefit from data from connected vehicles. In this context, it will also take into account cybersecurity considerations, including remote access to data.
Supply chain competitiveness and resilience. The Commission will present a global ‘Battery Booster’ package to support battery manufacturing under the Innovation Fund. It will explore direct production support for companies producing batteries in the EU.
EU support could be combined with State aid. In this context, the Commission is working on a new Clean Industrial State Aid Framework that will simplify State aid rules, notably to ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean tech equipment in Europe, including batteries and their key components. The Commission is currently consulting Member States and stakeholders on a draft of this framework.
Skills and the social dimension. The Commission will set up a European Fair Transition Observatory to develop and collate relevant data, including projections of employment trends across the European automotive value chain and at sectoral and regional levels.
In order to provide better support for workers affected by transitions, in spring 2025 the Commission will propose a targeted amendment to the regulation on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Its scope of action will be extended to support companies in their restructuring processes in order to protect employees against the risk of unemployment.
Strengthening market access. The Commission will also propose, in cooperation with the Member States and industry, conditions for inbound foreign investments in the automotive sector to further increase their added value for the EU.
To read the document: https://aeur.eu/f/fq8 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)