VW and Stellantis demand CO₂ bonus for European-made EVs

VW CEO Oliver Blume and Stellantis manager Antonio Filosa are jointly calling for domestic production to be prioritised in EU climate regulations. They are also demanding financial incentives. “Every battery-electric vehicle ‘Made in Europe’ should receive a CO₂ bonus,” they state in a document shared with three European newspapers, including Germany’s Handelsblatt.

Under its new ‘Buy European’ policy, the EU Commission aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on the USA and China in key sectors. Laws such as the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) have already been introduced. An upcoming legislative proposal from EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, reportedly due on 25 February, is expected to go even further by including additional sectors.

With many details still unclear, the CEOs of VW and Stellantis are publicly outlining their position to the Commission. In their open letter, they propose a three-tier model comprising origin criteria, access to funding, and climate benefits. Regarding origin criteria, the CEOs urge the EU to ‘define binding minimum requirements for electric vehicles’—covering vehicle production (including research and development, the electric powertrain, battery cells, and key electronic components). If a vehicle meets the yet-to-be-defined requirements in these four areas, it should receive a ‘Made in Europe’ label, which would then serve as a prerequisite for accessing state funding. This also means that if a manufacturer or model fails to meet these criteria, it should not receive financial support from European states, such as purchase incentives, fleet programmes, or public contracts.

Furthermore, battery-electric vehicles bearing the ‘Made in Europe’ label should, according to the two executives, also qualify for a CO₂ bonus. While the CO₂ regulation is described as a ‘strong lever’, Blume and Filosa have not elaborated on their demand in detail. Battery-electric vehicles are already calculated as emitting 0 g/km of CO₂ in fleet emissions and, in some cases, receive super credits. An additional CO₂ bonus would likely result in a negative CO₂ emission value in calculations. Moreover, “if a manufacturer meets the ‘Made in Europe’ requirements for a large portion of its fleet, such a CO₂ bonus should even be recognised for all its battery-electric vehicles.”

The two executives view this approach as a positive incentive for the automotive industry to “maintain its production within the EU. Billions in penalty payments could be avoided and instead redirected towards urgently needed investments in the single market,” the letter states.

In their open letter, VW and Stellantis emphasise their companies’ commitment to “building cars by Europeans for Europeans”—90 percent of the models sold by both automakers in the EU are also manufactured in the EU. “However, this European business model is exposed to competition from importers operating under less stringent regulatory and social conditions than those in the EU,” Filosa and Blume note.

They specifically highlight battery cells as “the clearest example of Europe’s strategic dilemma.” “We are investing billions in our own European battery cell production. As Europeans, we must master and produce this core technology ourselves across the entire value chain,” the open letter states. “At the same time, our European customers rightfully expect us to offer electric vehicles that are as affordable as possible. This is a key prerequisite for the success of electromobility. However, the lower the price of a car, the greater the pressure to import the cheapest available batteries.”

The executives argue that the right response to the conflict between short-term cost pressures, dependencies on third countries, and long-term strategic resilience is the proposed ‘Made in Europe’ strategy.

handelsblatt.com, handelsblatt.com (full text of the open letter)