Prospects and contradictions of the electrification of the European automotive industry: the role of European Union policy

Abstract

The article analyses the role that the EU regulatory framework for the reduction of CO2 emissions in the transport sector has played during the last twenty years in moving the industry away from what it was supposed to do: reduce weight, mass and size of the cars sold to make them less polluting. It shows that the current race towards electrification can be seen as the result of this paradox. It argues that under the ongoing upmarket drift in new car sales the social, economic and political costs of electrification increase, while its environmental benefits decrease.

The Circular Rebound Tool: A tool to move companies towards more sustainable circular business models

“…It was more recently repopularised by economists Khazzoom and Brookes ( Saunders, 1992 ), who put forth the idea that energy efficiency paradoxically leads to increased energy consumption. The most widely cited example is that of the fuel-efficient car: the cost savings from owning a more fuel-efficient vehicle can be offset by consumers driving more kilometres on average ( Druckman et al., 2011 ) or buying vehicles with more power and weight ( Pardi, 2021 ).…”

Transition of the automotive industry towards electric vehicle production in the east European integrated periphery

“…The starting point of my analysis is the assumption of inevitability of the transition away from the production of ICE vehicles, which is based on three points. First, the emission limits imposed on the EU automotive industry by the European Commission (EC 2019 ; Pardi 2021 ; CLEPA 2021 ) cannot be met without shifting the production away from ICE vehicles. Second, feasible technological options for the automotive industry to meet these limits by the deadline specified in the EU regulations are currently limited.…”

“…The European automotive industry has embarked on a transition from the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs) to the production of electric vehicles (EVs) [i.e., battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in-hybrids electric vehicles (PHEVs)], which will lead to the restructuring of the existing automotive industry in Europe. This transition has been necessitated by the adoption of strict CO 2 emission limits on newly produced vehicles by the European Commission with the goal of decreasing the release of CO 2 by the transport sector to limit global warming (EC 2019 ; Pardi 2021 ; CLEPA 2021 ; Biresselioglu et al 2018 ). The expected adoption of the ‘Fit for 55’ package by the European Union (EU) will effectively ban ICEs in all new cars and vans starting in 2035 (European Council 2022 ).…”

Developing Return Supply Chain: A Research on the Automotive Supply Chain

“…European Union directives are based on a set of standards to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 [30,34]. These directives intend to substitute vehicles with lower emissions, and the electric vehicle is one of the current bets [39][40][41]. With this governmental influence, the automobile industry is being forced to change its resources and activities [40].…”