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Stuck in second gear

EOS Insight
6 May 2021 |
Car manufacturers need to pick up the pace in transitioning from fossil fuels to electric vehicles, with tighter regulations on emissions looming.

The top 10 automotive groups account for 90% of EU-wide auto emissions and hold the keys to change. Yet a Federated Hermes analysis has identified erratic progress towards Paris Agreement-alignment, with car makers exploiting exemptions and loopholes within the EU’s regulatory framework. As a result, overall emissions have risen not fallen.

Meanwhile, due to air quality concerns, several EU countries are introducing complete bans on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030. The cover story in EOS’s Q1 2021 Public Engagement Report examines why faster adoption of battery electric vehicles must be a priority for auto companies, given this backdrop of tightening policy. 

EOS is engaging with car manufacturers on this topic, seeing a risk that companies waste time and money developing and investing in hybrid technologies that do not perform as well in the real world as is claimed, or fall foul of tighter policy come 2030. It would make more sense to leapfrog hybrids and go fully electric. To get there, companies must not only invest in R&D, they must commit sizeable capex to reconfiguring production lines, and change their approach to marketing and sales.

This article appears in our Q1 2021 Public Engagement Report.

Stuck in second gear

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