Chief executives of Europe’s two largest carmakers, Volkswagen and Stellantis, have jointly called on European Union policymakers to strengthen support for domestically produced electric vehicles as the bloc seeks to reduce its dependence on China and the United States.
Volkswagen Chief Executive Oliver Blume and Stellantis executive Antonio Filosa said EU climate and industrial policy should prioritise local production and include financial incentives for battery-electric vehicles manufactured in Europe. “Every battery-electric vehicle ‘Made in Europe’ should receive a CO₂ bonus,” they said in a joint document shared with several European newspapers, including Germany’s Handelsblatt.
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The appeal comes as the European Commission advances a so-called ‘Buy European’ agenda aimed at strengthening strategic autonomy in key industries. Measures such as the Critical Raw Materials Act are already in place, while a new legislative proposal from EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, expected later this month, is set to expand the scope of industrial support, according to media reports.
In an open letter to the Commission, Blume and Filosa proposed a three-pillar framework built around origin criteria, access to public funding and climate-related incentives. They called on the EU to define binding minimum requirements for electric vehicles covering areas such as research and development, vehicle assembly, battery cells and key electronic components. Models meeting these criteria would qualify for a ‘Made in Europe’ label, which would serve as a condition for receiving state support, including purchase incentives, fleet programmes and public contracts.
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The executives also argued that battery-electric vehicles carrying the label should be eligible for an additional CO₂ bonus under EU fleet emission rules. While electric vehicles are currently counted as emitting zero grams of CO₂ per kilometre, they suggested that a further bonus could strengthen incentives for local production. “If a manufacturer meets the ‘Made in Europe’ requirements for a large portion of its fleet, such a CO₂ bonus should even be recognised for all its battery-electric vehicles,” the letter said.
According to the two companies, the proposed approach would help keep production within the EU while freeing up capital for investment. “Billions in penalty payments could be avoided and instead redirected towards urgently needed investments in the single market,” the executives wrote.
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Volkswagen and Stellantis said around 90% of the vehicles they sell in the EU are also produced in the bloc, but warned that their business model faces growing pressure from imports manufactured under what they described as less stringent regulatory and social standards. They singled out battery cells as a key strategic challenge, noting that while European automakers are investing heavily in local battery production, cost pressures risk increasing reliance on cheaper imports.
“The right response to the conflict between short-term cost pressures, dependencies on third countries and long-term strategic resilience is the ‘Made in Europe’ strategy,” Blume and Filosa said.
