Frankfurt am Main – The EU Commission has responded to the difficult situation facing the automotive industry with a comprehensive package. The proposal contains many elements that IG Metall has called for and advocated in recent months. The revision of the CO2 regulations combines flexibility in powertrain types with the maintenance of climate targets. From IG Metall’s perspective, this is fundamentally the right approach.
Equally, it means that companies in the automotive industry will also gain new opportunities. German manufacturers and suppliers must now use this new flexibility, the time saved, and the new leeway first and foremost to secure jobs and production sites.
Christiane Benner, President of IG Metall, makes it clear: “There is a clear plan on the table for how things should proceed starting in 2035. Everything that follows now must secure jobs and strengthen industrial structures, especially among suppliers. The automotive industry has long complained that the 2035 target was holding it back. Now that this obstacle has been removed, we must move forward at full speed on the main road to electric mobility, while at the same time making powertrains more flexible—with the goal of securing jobs! There are no more excuses!”
The Commission’s proposal gives manufacturers and suppliers more flexibility for sensible powertrain options on the path to climate-neutral mobility. It is good that powertrains with internal combustion engine components will remain permitted for longer. This will allow the transition in employment at many locations to be better managed in collaboration with unions and works councils.
The IG Metall leader emphasizes the framework conditions, but also the consequences that come with the plans: “The Commission’s proposal addresses IG Metall’s demands: keeping hybrids on the road, promoting local content, significantly supporting European battery production, setting quotas for green steel, and shifting the focus toward small, affordable vehicles. The climate targets remain in place, but are to be achieved through different means. Even though the devil is in the details of the legislative process, German manufacturers must now develop clear strategies that meet these requirements and secure jobs.”
The continued use of the internal combustion engine is subject to strict conditions. Additional CO2 emissions must be offset through the use of green steel, advanced biofuels, or e-fuels. This makes sense and combines climate action with industrial policy.
But it also means that electric mobility will remain the central path forward. The industry must continue to pursue this even more actively. Sitting back and waiting during this transformation is not an option. The German automotive industry must remain competitive to secure jobs at our locations. The many investments made—especially by the German automotive industry—will pay off, but this will require patience.
To ensure competitiveness and employment, the automotive industry must drive innovation forward at full speed and develop new business models. The industry’s transformation continues. Jobs are secured through future-proofing, not by waiting and seeing. IG Metall will clearly pursue its leading role in accelerating innovation.
Policymakers remain obligated to continue improving the framework conditions quickly. It is a positive sign that the Commission intends to provide stronger support for the value chains of electric mobility, even if the funding allocated in the battery package is insufficient. Member states must now step up, provide additional support at the national level, and take advantage of the new opportunities.
Of particular importance to IG Metall are the local content criteria proposed by the European Commission in the regulations governing corporate fleets, new small electric cars, and battery subsidies. This represents appropriate industrial policy in a new era of global competition among business locations. These criteria must now be formulated in more concrete terms.
Further information and press photos of Christiane Benner
