The European Union must defend its automotive industry against growing Chinese competition, including reconsidering its 2035 zero-emission target for new cars and vans, the bloc’s industry chief Stephane Sejourne said in an interview published on Friday.
“We have to be less naive, and get ourselves back to the standards of all the world’s major economies. We’re the only continent that lacks strategic thinking on industrial policy,” Sejourne told Italian daily La Stampa.
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He cautioned that “if we do not intervene, in ten years the cars produced and sold in Europe will fall from 13 (million) to nine million,” urging flexibility on the plan to end internal combustion engine sales by 2035.
Sejourne said the European Commission is considering steps to boost competitiveness, including new rules to safeguard production, efforts to reduce bureaucracy, and expanding into new export markets. Earlier this week, he announced plans for a new category of affordable small electric cars to counter Chinese imports, with details expected on December 10.
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“Today there are manufacturers that assemble Chinese cars in Europe with Chinese components and Chinese personnel: it’s happening in Spain and in Hungary. That’s not acceptable,” he said.
While Sejourne did not advocate outright protectionism, he said Europe must “introduce conditions to foreign investment in Europe,” though warned that tariffs could “create trade tensions and hurt production.” He added that reducing dependence on China for rare earth minerals will require diversifying suppliers to countries such as Brazil, Canada, and several in Africa, as well as expanding recycling and developing local extraction.
Source: Reuters
