The European Commission is set to subsidize the expansion of electric mobility, according to a draft of the action plan for the auto industry, reported by the “Handelsblatt” on its Wednesday edition. The plan is to be presented by the EU Commission on Wednesday. The goal is to increase the share of electric mobility in the EU through a so-called “Social-Leasing-program” and a higher quota of electric vehicles in company fleets.
The EU recommends to its member states to support low-income households by offering discounted leasing options for new and used electric vehicles. Additionally, the EU aims to unify the various incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles in member states by 2026. Furthermore, Brussels plans to significantly expand the charging infrastructure in the EU and invest three billion euros in the production of battery cells.
The EU Commission has developed the action plan in the so-called strategic dialogue with the auto industry. On Monday, von der Leyen had already suggested that car manufacturers should be granted more time to meet the CO2 emissions targets: a mechanism similar to the emissions trading system will be introduced, allowing for “banking” and “borrowing”, for example, so that a failure to meet targets in one year can be offset by an overachievement in another year.