Both demand-side and supply-side problems for e-cars could create a conflict between the EU's Green Deal strategy, the sovereignty of the industrial sector and the consumer's wallet. Problems can also be seen in the imposition of the alternative of biofuels.
In a report, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) discusses the European Union's ambitious goal on the road to zero emissions by introducing a freeze on sales of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035. The aim is to force a new car fleet with battery electric vehicles is excellent in itself, says the ECJ, but warns of serious challenges and the likelihood of a sharp turn. Even at this stage, the obstacles to achieving this goal are visible, and the European Union must ensure that these ambitions do not cost the citizens of the community too much.
However, the EU must find a compromise between the Green Deal, the sovereignty of the industrial sector and affordability for consumers.
Urgent action is needed to enable European industry to produce electric cars on a large scale at competitive prices, while securing raw material supplies and increasing charging infrastructure across Europe.
Achieving zero net emissions by 2050 is formulated in three main steps - reducing CO2 emissions from LPG cars, looking for opportunities to use alternative fuels, as well as mass adoption of electric vehicles. Over the past few years, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published a number of reports showing that the first objective has not been met so far, the second — regarding biofuels — seems unrealistic on a wider scale, and the third risks being costly for both EU businesses and consumers.
Reducing CO₂ emissions generated by passenger cars is slow and difficult, auditors find.
The EU has made progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, except in the area of transport, which generates around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. Half of them are from passenger cars alone. Emissions from conventional cars have not decreased significantly over the last 12 years, despite the new standards introduced - achieved greater engine efficiency is offset by the increase in vehicle mass (by about 10% on average) and engine power (by about 25 %).
At this stage, hybrid cars also do not fulfill the formulated goal of a smooth transition.
The future of biofuels is unclear
Alternative fuels, such as biofuels and electricity- or hydrogen-based fuels, are often cited as potential replacements for gasoline and diesel, but they are not widely available and cannot be a reasonable alternative. The ECJ also points out that there is no clear and stable road map to deal with the sector's long-term problems: fuel availability, price and environmental friendliness.
First, biomass produced within the EU is not enough to offer a serious alternative to traditional fossil fuels. When biomass is mainly imported from third countries, this contradicts the objective of strategic energy autonomy. Biofuels also have the problem of competition for raw materials from other industries (e.g. food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics).
Second, partly due to availability issues, the EU auditors concluded that biofuels are not yet a competitive alternative from an economic point of view. In practice, biofuels are simply more expensive than carbon-based fuels, and paying for emission allowances is currently cheaper than reducing CO2 emissions by using biofuels, which the fiscal policies of EU countries do not always support.
And last and most importantly, the auditors found that the environmental friendliness of biofuels is overstated. The use of raw materials for biofuels can be destructive to ecosystems and harm biodiversity, soil and water quality, inevitably raising ethical questions about the relative priorities of fuels and food.
Electric vehicles — a dilemma for the EU
The European battery industry - globally is a share of less than 10%, the majority of which is from non-European companies. China's global share reaches a significant 76% of production.
One significant problem for the EU battery sector is the heavy dependence on imports of resources from third countries with which the Union does not have the necessary trade agreements. 87% of crude lithium imports are from Australia, 80% of manganese imports — from South Africa and Gabon, 68% of the cobalt — from the Democratic Republic of Congo and 40% of graphite — from China. Apart from the factor of dependence on imports of highly sought-after goods, which affects prices, many of the countries of origin are unstable nationally or pose a geopolitical risk to Europe's strategic autonomy. The social and environmental conditions under which these raw materials are extracted also have an additional influence.
The auditors also highlight that despite significant public support, the cost of EU-made batteries remains much higher than expected. This inevitably affects their competitiveness with other global manufacturers and may also mean that European electric vehicles are out of reach for a large part of the population. Since the publication of the ECA report on batteries, sales of new electric cars in Europe have so far increased significantly (1.5 million registrations last year, or 1 in 7 new registrations). However, recent studies suggest that these sales have been publicly subsidized and are mostly in the €30,000 and up range. A significant part of this cost is for the batteries, which can reach an average of 15,000 euros in Europe.
Or to put it briefly - if the EU's capacity and competitiveness do not increase significantly, there is a risk that the "electric car revolution" in Europe to rely on imports and ultimately harm the European car industry and its more than 3 million manufacturing jobs.
In addition to the above, charging stations remain few and far between and there are many obstacles to traveling long distances in the EU with electric vehicles. Currently, the number is far below the target of 1 million points by 2025, and the number of public charging stations varies from country to country. 70% of the charging points are located in France, Germany and the Netherlands and drastically less in Eastern Europe.