Mercedes CEO believes European carmakers are on the verge of collapse
Ola Källenius, CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group, warns EU authorities to rethink the expiration date of combustion-engine cars.
BarcelonaMercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius has harshly criticized the European Union's (EU) targets and bans on combustion-engine vehicles. The German government criticized the EU government's roadmap in an interview with the newspaper. Handelsblatt, where he points out that the European automotive industry, one of the pillars of the secondary sector in the Old Continent, "is about to hit a wall" due to the objectives and demands imposed by the EU in the process of transition to electric vehicles.
Källenius advocates a critical review of the objectives and roadmap established by European governments, which foresee a total ban on the sale of combustion cars in Europe starting in 2035. The CEO of Mercedes-Benz is committed to generating spaces for dialogue between the main automobile manufacturers and the different administrations to rethink the deadlines and objectives of decarbonization.
Ola Källenius is also the current president of ACEA, the association that brings together the main European automobile manufacturers. Källenius believes that manufacturers must "move towards a total decarbonization of automobiles, but it must be done in a technologically neutral way and without losing sight of economic criteria." And the truth is that sales of fully electric vehicles have grown very timidly during the first half of the year in the European market as a whole, and are still far from the ambitious goals set for 2020. Many manufacturers have invested millions in the development of new platforms and mechanics for electric cars, but sales figures have not yet begun to take off, which generates losses in the short and medium term and difficulties in amortizing the units manufactured.
Källenius also recalls that the European automotive industry is going through "a period of severe storms and difficulties" and that car manufacturing in Europe "is more difficult than ever," referring to the complicated industrial and financial situation of many of the major European manufacturers.
