ACEA — 2026-02-10
News from Brussels
In this letter addressed to EU leaders, Ola Källenius, President of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and CEO of Mercedes-Benz, outlines three critical priorities to secure Europe’s industrial future.
1) Strengthening resilience and managing critical dependencies by creating more value in Europe and preventing de-industrialisation, while still building pragmatic partnerships that reinforce capabilities and accelerate the development of key technologies:
Free trade agreements, such as those with India and Mercosur, should be swiftly approved by the European Parliament and EU Member States, and implemented without delay.
Policies to boost production and investments in Europe should be incentive-based and sit within a broader re-industrialisation push: faster and simpler permitting, lower industrial energy costs, higher labour productivity, predictable support for upfront investment and ongoing operating costs, particularly to scale EV battery manufacturing.
2) Pursuing a pragmatic, “three-lane” decarbonisation pathway for cars, vans and buses & trucks, with ambitious targets, that remain flexible and technology neutral to resist shocks and external constraints:
The Commission’s proposal to amend the CO2 regulation for cars and vans is not sufficient. The compliance relief for cars and vans for 2030 must be strengthened; vans require additional dedicated measures due to their particularly challenging situation; and there is no need to delay the compensation mechanism until 2035 as earlier application would speed up market development for sustainable fuels and advanced green materials. In parallel, the targeted amendment granting truck manufacturers greater flexibility to generate more emission credits and facilitate compliance with the 2030 targets should be adopted swiftly.
Achieving these targets will require consistent demand incentives across all Member States, lower electricity prices, and a faster rollout of charging infrastructure.
3) Reversing the decline in vehicle production in Europe:
With ageing fleets and ever-expanding regulatory requirements – especially in the entry segment, making it increasingly unviable to build affordable compact cars in Europe – EU production is stagnating. We need to accelerate fleet renewal, to make simplification a constant part of policy making (e.g. Euro 7 for HDVs needs radical streamlining to free investments for electrification instead) and regulatory “batches” aligned with vehicle development cycles rather than constant incremental rulemaking.