EU car makers open to tougher emission targets if more charging points deployed

BRUSSELS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Leading car makers in the European Union (EU) are open to higher CO2 reduction targets for cars in 2030 if EU countries are committed to rolling out matching infrastructure of charging points and hydrogen stations, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said Wednesday.

ACEA said in a statement that it is calling for the bloc's upcoming review of the CO2 regulations for passenger cars and vans to be based on "strict EU-wide infrastructure deployment objectives."

"Our industry's huge investments in alternatively-powered vehicles are paying off," Oliver Zipse, ACEA President and CEO of German automaker BMW, said in the statement. "But this trend can only be sustained if governments start making matching investments in infrastructure," he noted.

"That is why any new 2030 CO2 targets for cars must be conditional on a corresponding infrastructure ramp-up," Zipse said, adding that the commitment to carbon-neutral mobility cannot be "a one-sided obligation."

According to ACEA, there should be a direct link between the automobile industry's emission targets and "binding and enforceable" national targets for charging points and refueling stations.

The EU aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050.

Data from ACEA showed that at least three million public charging points for cars will be needed to meet the 2030 CO2 target for the industry agreed in 2019. Currently, there are only some 225,000 in operation in the EU, the association said.