VDA President Hildegard Müller regarding EU battery regulations:

"Time is running out – and neither Brussels nor Berlin are giving in on the delegated legal act for calculating the CO2 footprint in the context of the EU Battery Regulation. While the situation is becoming increasingly difficult for the German location, the EU Commission now wants to calculate the battery's ecological balance across the board based on the national electricity mix of the member states and reject renewable energy certificates. Germany is in danger of falling behind in comparison to Europe with its electricity mix - and the expansion of renewable energies would also be hampered! Berlin must unite with EU member states such as Poland to avert a fundamental location and competitive disadvantage for German companies.

The fact is that the current plan will destroy the market-based instrument that is crucial for companies to reduce their carbon footprint. The proposed CO2 calculation in the EU battery regulation is neither expedient nor strategically sensible, and it is also in complete contradiction to the EU's previous approach. This would de facto punish companies producing in Germany for German energy policy, as this is associated with a higher carbon footprint than nuclear energy in France, for example.

And instead of taking action, German politicians are trying to calm the concerns of industry by announcing that the expansion of renewable energies in this country will progress rapidly in the foreseeable future. The future of German companies should therefore depend on the belief that the German electricity mix can reach the level of other European countries in a very short time. This is unrealistic.

In addition, proven instruments such as the use of renewable energy certificates would be excluded, thus depriving companies producing in Germany of the opportunity to invest in the expansion of renewable energy plants.

In plain language: This delegated legal act would slow down climate protection and not only massively complicate the transformation of the automotive industry at German locations. There is also a risk that this new approach from Brussels will not only be applied to batteries, but to more and more areas. Instead of strengthening the market-based instruments that are clearly favored by science and rewarding the climate protection activities of German companies, Brussels would once again weaken the competitive location. The signal effect and the consequences would be disastrous."