Regions dependent on carmaking disagree over how to protect their factories and workers. Some want more time and alternatives to electric cars. Others warn that weakening Europe’s climate deadlines would undermine the investments needed to keep the industry competitive.
“Whilst Europe is thinking and debating, other people are overtaking us,” María Chivite, president of Spain’s Navarra region, told the European Committee of the Regions on Wednesday. Presenting her draft opinion on the automotive package, she argued that affordable electric cars, charging infrastructure, and worker training could support both manufacturing and the transition.
The plenary debate in Brussels brought those competing approaches together. Regional leaders agreed that European production needed support, but differed over whether flexibility would help companies adapt or leave them uncertain about which technologies to invest in.
More time or more uncertainty?
The central disagreement is whether giving manufacturers more time would protect jobs or delay the investment needed to secure them. Supporters of greater flexibility want emissions rules to reflect demand, charging infrastructure, and factories’ ability to adapt. They also want alternatives to electric vehicles to remain part of the transition.
“The technological transition must be driven by innovation, not by choices imposed in advance,” said Marco Marsilio, president of Italy’s Abruzzo region. Presenting a separate opinion on transport investment, he supported a broader role for alternative fuels. A representative from Piedmont, the northern Italian region home to Fiat’s historic base in Turin, similarly challenged Europe’s focus on electric vehicles.
The opposing argument is that changing deadlines would make investment less predictable. Companies that have committed money to electric vehicles, batteries, and components need confidence that the market will move in that direction. A Socialist speaker from Saarland, a German state with a substantial automotive supply industry, warned that loosening the 2035 emissions target for new cars would weaken that confidence.
Navarra, in northern Spain, offered an example of investment following electrification. Ms Chivite pointed to production of smaller, affordable electric cars and argued for support across the supply chain. “We can be flexible at midpoints,” she said, while insisting that adjustments should preserve the overall strategy.
Cars and chargers beyond rich cities
Whatever the timetable, factories need customers. The debate found broader agreement that electric cars must become affordable and practical beyond wealthy cities. That means smaller vehicles, a stronger second-hand market, and charging infrastructure in rural communities as well as urban centres.
The technological transition must be driven by innovation, not by choices imposed in advance.
— Marco Marsilio, president of Italy’s Abruzzo region
Used cars bring another challenge: buyers need reliable information about battery condition and warranties. Targeted incentives and social leasing schemes could also help lower-income households participate in the transition. Green representatives backed those measures while warning against undermining companies already investing in zero-emission technologies.
Keeping production in Europe also requires support beyond assembly plants. Smaller suppliers need investment, workers need retraining, and regions need stronger links between research and manufacturing. The transition can change the components factories buy and the skills they require, even where car production continues.
“Our regions and the industry cannot wait anymore,” said Brigitte Torloting, vice-president of Grand Est in northeastern France and chair of the Automotive Regions Alliance. The Committee’s opinion is advisory, but its debate identifies practical demands for EU policy: help consumers buy the cars, help suppliers adapt, and give investors a direction they can trust.
