The European Union approves a ban on the sale of combustion and/or hybrid vehicles from 2035, boosting the electric vehicle industry

It’s over. No combustion engine vehicles—whether gasoline, diesel, or even hybrid—will be allowed to be sold in the European Union from 2035 onwards. This decision was made by the European Parliament to put an end to the hemorrhaging of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions that these types of vehicles release into the atmosphere every day and thus achieve the decarbonization targets for transport and the economy that the European Union has set for 2050, when the continent must be climate neutral. Therefore, all light vehicles will have to be either electric or hydrogen-powered, which provides a window of opportunity for fifteen years to prepare industry, the electricity grid, consumers, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This is a significant technological challenge for which the EU has been preparing for years, and which now has a deadline.

This decision, which focuses on the fact that15% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions come from road transportThis came after the rejection of an amendment to lower the decarbonization targets for transport and doesn’t seem to have surprised European vehicle manufacturers, who have been announcing the end of combustion engine vehicle production for several years. Thus, major brands have recently added 100% electric models to their lineups, in addition to announcing their collaboration on various battery manufacturing projects for electric vehicles.

Spain will mobilize more than 24 billion euros to promote electric vehicles

One of the most important driving forces for electric vehicles, and a central pillar of Spain’s economic and technological recovery, will be the so-called PERTE Electric. These Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation aim to channel a series of investments committed by the European Union to projects considered strategic in each member state. Thus, Spain will have a PERTE for the development of electric and connected vehicles. As the Spanish government itself reports, the central focus of this plan is “the creation of the necessary ecosystem for the development and manufacture of electric and connected vehicles by boosting the automotive industry (with a strong pull on other economic sectors), to respond to the new sustainable and connected mobility needs and to generate new activities.”

A plan, approved last July 2021, in which, through public-private collaboration, the mobilization of more than 24 billion euros is planned until 2023.

Europe needs to invest 280 billion euros in charging infrastructure to phase out combustion engine vehicles

While the manufacture of electric vehicles is fundamental to phasing out combustion engine vehicles and promoting electric mobility, even more crucial is the availability of a reliable charging network. This infrastructure, according to the latest report published by theEuropean Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA)More than €280 billion will be needed. Therefore, the European Union must adopt an installation rate of 14,000 public charging points per week, compared to the current 2,000, reaching a total of 6.8 million charging points installed by 2030. According to the ACEA report, this figure would help reduce CO2 emissions from European passenger cars by 55%.

This demand differs considerably from the figure presented by the European Commission in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which is currently being negotiated in the European Parliament and Council and is practically half of what ACEA indicated. On the other hand, the study estimates that the cannual costs of public charging infrastructureamount to 8 billion euros, around 16% of the investment in 5G and high-speed internet networks.