The European Parliament has voted in favor of phasing out internal combustion engine cars in the European Union from 2035.
The vote was narrow, with 340 of the 640 MEPs in favour, but confirmed plans announced by the European Commission last year. The plans were announced after an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of Europe to require zero emissions from cars and vans from 2035.
When the proposal to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles in the European Union was made last year, it immediately caused a reaction from the car industry.
In June, when the proposal was first made, the head of Germany’s car industry association, Hildegard Mueller, said Europe’s charging infrastructure was not developed enough for the electric vehicle goals it would entail. the change. He also warned that the Commission, which made the proposal, was acting prematurely.
In addition to these concerns, however, there are more direct ones that will in all likelihood interfere with the EU’s zero-emissions plans. Chief among them is the expected shortage of copper, which is widely used in electric vehicles.
The price of lithium is also a concern although it is down from the highs reached last year. Experts seem to agree that electric vehicles only have a future as a means of mass transportation if they achieve price parity with ICE cars while offering comparable performance.
There is also the issue of Chinese dominance in the electric vehicle space along the supply chain. China, the world’s largest electric vehicle market, is also the country with the largest rare earth processing capacity and the leader in battery technology, as recently demonstrated by Ford’s deal with CATL for the technology of electric vehicle batteries from the latter, which will be used in Ford’s new factory in Michigan. .
The head of the European Union’s Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, previously commented that following the overwhelming approval of the ban, progress will be reviewed in three years’ time to see how the EU would reach its zero target emissions for 2035.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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