VDIK: The EU must prevent fines

At the first press conference in her new role as President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK), it was up to Imelda Labbé to look ahead to her first financial year. She did so against the backdrop of the importers' market share, which has been growing for years. The association's members forecast around 2.85 million newly registered vehicles for the coming year, 30,000 more vehicles than in 2024. Even this weak growth is based on a framework that does not yet exist.

According to Labbé, the forecast is based on the assumption that the current fleet regulation will remain valid and that the framework conditions for electromobility will be significantly improved at the same time. "The situation would be different if there were no further significant incentives for the ramp-up of electromobility. If there is no further growth in the BEV sector in 2025, we expect the overall market to decline to around 2.7 million cars," says Labbé." Across all drive types, this would mean a decline of 120,000 vehicles compared to 2024.

As things stand, the association is forecasting 580,000 BEV units for 2025. That is 200,000 vehicles more than this year and therefore slightly more than in 2023, the last year of the subsidy. This would give BEVs a 20 percent share of the overall market in 2025. By comparison, this share was 13.5 percent in 2024.

The VDIK is therefore calling for the following framework conditions for the ramp-up of electromobility and to achieve the targets for 2035:

A national strategy for electromobility that enables reliable planning

The expansion of the charging and hydrogen tank infrastructure, based on the growth in vehicles

Incentives and support measures for private customers

A reduction in the price of charging electricity

Additional incentives such as free parking for e-vehicles in cities

Imelda Labbé also expects BEV prices to fall in the coming year. "Due to the stricter CO2 fleet targets from January 1, our members are currently assuming that electric vehicles will have to be launched on the market next year with increased sales efforts in order to enable customers to make an affordable entry into electromobility," she said at the press conference. This is the only way to achieve the fleet targets.

"Our member companies will make every effort to achieve the CO2 targets," states Labbé, but at the same time points out that the targets are not achievable given the current demand, The VDIK is therefore calling on the EU Commission to prevent the automotive industry from being burdened with fines. "Penalties would lead to a further restriction of investment in the automotive transformation," explains Labbé. This must be prevented with all our might.

If BEVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are considered together, the VDIK expects around 780,000 vehicles and a share of around 26.9 percent of all new registrations in 2025. In the record year of 2022, 820,000 electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV) were newly registered, which was primarily due to the reduction of accumulated incoming orders in addition to strong subsidies. (aum)