EU Election Manifesto: A Green and Just Industrial Policy
Manifesto First Pillar
A Green and Just
Industrial European Policy

One of the richest ‘urban mines’ available to Europe is the supply of old batteries and other waste materials. By investing in integrated recycling and repurposing facilities for collecting, dismantling, recovering or reusing valuable metals from batteries, Europe can, by 2040, secure a large share of the metal resources it needs for battery production. Such an approach not just reduces waste, it is also scalable, preserving and reusing precious raw materials and keeping a greater proportion of them within Europe, increasing our strategic autonomy.
The overall concept of Europe keeping potentially valuable waste within its borders is one that should be widely adopted. Environmental recycling standards vary; exporting waste for processing to locations without equivalent standards undermines our own attempts to reduce environmental impacts. The EU should encourage recycling by establishing a harmonised approach to the intra-EU shipment of spent batteries. All. Executed properly, this can make Europe competitive in battery recycling, ensure the highest environmental standards and help create a flourishing recycling industry in the future
Resilient, affordable renewable energy will be key to a successful industrial policy; however, this demands that the correct grid assets are in place. With a European Grids Package, Europe can refresh and upgrade its infrastructure to meet the demand to accommodate higher levels of renewable energy. Although this will require investment, doing so will allow Europe to tap into its future grid asset – electric vehicles. It will accelerate the connection of chargers and other Green Deal enabling technologies and allow Europe to tap into the huge energy storage potential offered by electric vehicles.
Europe must also go further than simply reducing vehicle engine emissions; it needs a more-holistic approach to reducing the environmental footprint of all road vehicles. This means decarbonising manufacturing materials, increasing manufacturing efficiency and maximising the circularity of the materials used. Introducing digital product passports, revamping EU products policy to reduce environmental footprints and committing to deliver a strong end-of-life vehicles regulation based on low carbon and recycled materials, will be the key drivers for such change in the years ahead.
Finally, while a renewed European industrial policy has focused on key components and sub-systems, it is important that it considers the full scope of the mobility industries’ value chains supporting their global competitiveness as they address the green transitions.

The reactions from the electric mobility ecosystem on Net Zero Industry Act
Green Deal Industrial Plan:
the reactions from the electric mobility ecosystem on Net Zero Industry Act and State Aid framework.
The Platform for electromobility welcomes the European Commission’s Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) and Temporary Crisis and Transition State aid Framework (TCTF) for accelerating the transition of the EU’s net zero industrial sectors towards climate neutrality by 2050. As currently proposed, the NZIA is a positive start for a necessary holistic and long-term strategic plan, detailing specific financial and regulatory support measures for addressing all global current and future challenges, securing an EU-built industrial ecosystem of sustainable transport and ensuring bespoke strategic autonomy for every key sector identified.
We understand and welcome the package of both NZIA and TCTF as a tool for accelerating clean-tech industries with proposed non-financial regulatory measures. In this paper, we outline how the narrow scope of the proposed NZIA may fail in its aim of supporting European specificities. In addition, certain financial measures should also be included; without these, the NZIA may fall short of achieving its intended goals and fail to provide the required support for European clean industries.
Scope
Given the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector and industries, and the fact that Europe’s transport systems make up part of its critical infrastructure, we consider that mobility industries that provide zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) – all transport modes considered – as well as charging stations, software and other ZEV enabling tech, should be considered part of the ‘Clean Tech’ sector.
We welcome the inclusion of battery, charging infrastructures and grid technologies in the Annexes as Strategic Net Zero Technologies, yet we remain concerned about the lack of recognition for the entire EV value chain in the proposal. Net Zero Technologies should be extended to include other EV enabling technologies, including smart and bidirectional charging as well as component manufacturers.
A more flexible approach to those sectors that will be key for the EU’s future competitiveness should be adopted. Downstream industries, such as ZEV manufacturers, should be better considered and included in the scope of the Regulation to secure economic opportunities for supported upstream industries, such as cell manufacturing. Considering the NZIA as a non-financial tool, extending the scope to other sectors of the energy transition would increase Europe’s ability to be competitive in strategic sectors for the decarbonisation of transport, without undermining the support of already-included sectors such as battery manufacturing.

Non-financial measures
To create the enabling conditions for the European clean transport industry to prosper, several issues must be urgently tackled.
The Green Deal is the EU’s centrepiece climate policy. It is now necessary to provide the regulatory certainty for businesses that will allow them to invest in the transition of the EU economy to a sustainable model that is consistent with the 2050 target of climate neutrality. Europe should lock-in ambitious Green Deal Fit for 55 policies (including the Trans-European Network for Transport Guidelines revision, the 2035 zero-emission objective for new cars and vans) and introduce similar policies for trucks and non-road mobile machinery in order to phase-out fossil trucks between 2035-40.
As specified in the proposal, and in order to ensure regulatory certainty, it is important that Member States endorse and adopt legislative and non-legislative actions relating to the Green Deal Industrial Plan. Such actions should be incorporated into national planning processes and should prioritise clean industries in energy and climate plans. New measures should also align with existing governance regulations and contribute to national energy and climate goals. National Recovery Resilience Plans should address the new elements from upcoming regulations, and the ways in which clean value chains can support energy and climate targets.
For the forthcoming mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, we welcome recent guidelines pushing Member States to amend National Recovery and Resilience Plans towards energy independency via renewable energy deployment and greening industries. Given the strong synergies between renewable energies and electric mobility, the former will inevitably form a key pillar of a European sustainable, electric transportation system.
We welcome NZIA’s measures for reducing unwieldy bureaucracy and speeding up overly cumbersome and slow procedures for the granting of permits, through national single points of contacts and maximum durations for permitting procedures. The ‘regulatory sandbox’ approach for new technologies can also help support their faster market readiness.
More could be done, however, through a critical review of the sectoral regulation applicable to existing zero-emission industries or technologies, to accelerate product development, capacity for sustainably extracted raw materials and renewable energy, validation, certification and market access, wherever possible. Sectoral action plans could draw on the Mobility Ecosystem Transition Pathway released by the Commission in March 2022.
In order to fast-track best-in-class projects, we welcome that Member States will be required to appoint a contact person for net zero strategic projects.
For modernisation, more should be done to digitalise the approvals process and to increase expertise and skills in local and national authorities.

The Platform supports provisions oriented towards a more binding approach to sustainability / Most-Economic Advantageous Tender (MEAT). The NZIA proposes specific sustainability and resilience criteria that public authorities need to take into account during public procurement procedures, in addition to price or cost. Public authorities shall give the tender’s sustainability and resilience contribution a weight of between 15% and 30% of the award criteria. This goes beyond the only price criteria, and is aligned with the MEAT principle, which is of great importance for the transport sector.
The question of which criteria for which technology should not be tackled in great detail within the NZIA, but rather in some upcoming guidelines from the European Commission. These would support public procurement authorities grasping sustainability and resilience criteria.
In the longer term, improved coordination between universities and industries on European research strategies and priorities is essential: Europe is home of many leading research institutes, but the research sector is overly fragmented to be able to outperform some global regions in the race to develop clean tech. The role of Horizon Europe and of Public-Private Partnerships should be reinforced to address this. European research institutes are also vital in equipping the European workforce with necessary skills for the transition.
The introduction of Net Zero Academies in the NZIA goes in the right direction, but these would require more details and specification. For example, the United States’ IRA has conditionality measures to link public support with social policies at company level. The EU should support companies in their commitment for upskilling and reskilling their workforce. It should foster and promote synergies between public and private sectors, in order to create training programmes fit for the net-zero value chain, such as the ReKnow University.
Financial measures
We welcome the simplification of EU State Aid rules in terms of Aid intensity, eligible costs definition and higher thresholds for State Aid exempted from prior notification for a temporary period. This is a useful immediate measure that will support investments in the electromobility value chain in the EU.
Subsidies should be granted to projects that match a certain set of conditions. This way, public funding (to support Operational Expenditure – OpEx and Capital Expenditure – CapEx) will be directly linked to key parameters for ensuring the competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s electromobility industries for all transport modes. This will be in line with EU targets on, for example, sustainability and R&D&I as well as health, safety and environmental standards.
Specifically on batteries, we support the changes introduced in the revised Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, which – if leveraged effectively by countries – have the potential of loosening national state aid rules to support EU-based battery production. Financial support should focus on the processing and refining of those battery materials required within the European Union. To ensure predictability and bankability for companies looking to invest in EU-based battery material production, any financing mechanism should be based on clear, pre-determined criteria and focus on output production, similar to the production-based incentives (USD/kWh) introduced by the US IRA.
However crucial the update of State Aid rules may be, the requirement to preserve a level-playing-field between European companies based in different Member States, since some are more fiscal liable and thus more likely to subside industries than others. Fragmentation of the internal market is a genuine risk:
Consequently, European competitiveness and a level European playing field require joint EU funding to ensure a pan-European investment capacity. The future European Sovereignty Fund must be established in close coordination with European clean tech industries, to ensure its cost-effectiveness, added value and complementarity with existing EU funds. ZEV-related supply chains, refining and processing materials for battery production capacity and related grid upgrades should be priority sectors for its operations, and inspiration should be drawn from the simple support provided, for example, in the US IRA, with its Advanced Manufacturing Production Credits. Without such matching of funds, there can be no global level-playing-field for battery manufacturing.
Financial measures should prioritise the development of a European battery value chain, including cell and component manufacturing, critical metals refining and processing. This should introduce minimum production targets for companies manufacturing in Europe (this can be via tax breaks or grants to scale-up manufacturing, or direct subsidies for startups who could be excluded from tax credits/deduction due to limited taxable income), uphold Europe’s environmental acquis and remain focused on the most value-added parts such as cathodes and cathode precursors. Batteries are central to scaling up ZEV and renewables. Missing this value chain to Asia or the US will undermine Europe’s strategic resilience and exclude the bloc from the resulting industrial and jobs benefits.
For battery manufacturing, the US IRA provides an Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (Opex support) of $35/kWh produced. We call for EU policymakers to match such support in order to help its European battery industry compete on more equal terms. Without such matching, there can be no global level-playing-field for battery manufacturing.
In parallel, Europe’s competitiveness and leadership on downstream industries (road and rail vehicles manufacturing) must be enhanced through dedicated, co-created action plans. Europe should also reward an accelerated implementation of the carbon footprint, circularity and due diligence provisions in the new EU Battery regulation by targeting subsidies at companies leading on sustainability.
Funding should support urgently-needed investments in grid upgrades and capacity, training and reskilling. There should be a specific focus on ensuring that workforce shortages in the electrical and software sectors are urgently addressed. This should go beyond financial mobilisation through the existing opportunities set out by the European Commission (Innovation Fund, Invest EU, Recovery and Resilience Facility; Horizon Europe and cohesion policy programmes), which have not yet reached convincing scale or momentum. To support its ambitions, the European Commission should come forward with a concrete funding plan/guideline to support the deployment of Net-Zero Technologies.

Strengthening EU’s electromobility ecosystem in the global race.
Strengthening EU’s electromobility ecosystem in the global race.
The investment in manufacturing technologies required to develop the net-zero, clean technologies and renewable energies is urgently needed at European and global levels. The Platform for electromobility therefore welcomes the ambition shown in the European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan, which is designed to improve a number of European policies in response to the new industrial ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ (IRA) in the United States.
Given the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, and the fact that Europe’s transport systems are part of its critical infrastructure, we believe that mobility industries providing zero-emission vehicles – all transport modes considered – should be considered part of the ‘Clean Tech’ sector. This should also extended in order to include charging stations, software and other EV enabling tech, given their important manufacturing footprint in Europe. This way, it will help anchor the manufacturing facilities for EV chargers on our continent.

An effective European response should go further than the IRA, and rapidly ensure the resilience of European industries against a backdrop of growing geoeconomic challenges. These have already seen both the United States and China invest heavily to try to secure the control of the electric mobility industrial value-chain.
Together, the IRA and the Made in China 2025 (MIC) plan should be treated as a wake-up call and a trigger for a robust European response. Indeed, Europe needs a holistic and long-term strategy that sets out the specific financial and regulatory support to address all the global current and future challenges. This should be capable of securing an EU-built industrial ecosystem of sustainable transport, and should ensure bespoke strategic autonomy for each key sector identified.

Importantly, the EU response should be prepared with care, in order to avoid provoking a global subsidy race. The goal should be to create an international level playing field between all economies, aimed at reaching Paris Agreement climate targets (COP21) together.

Disregarding trans-Atlantic subsidies schemes, the European industrial strategy should define a long term-strategic ambition which, as a priority, should support the zero-emissions mobility, along its entire value chain and through all sustainable transport modes.
The Platform for electromobility is willing to bring its expertise and ecosystem perspective to the democratic debate by drafting detailed proposals that would lead way to a) short-term non-financial measures, such as regulatory certainty, bureaucratic delays, energy taxation, European research and shipment rules; b) State Aid rules and European Sovereignty Fund; and c) financial support.
EU Year of skills: making the Green Deal works for everyone
EU Year of Skills
Our recommendations to make Green Deal works for everyone
A 2021 study undertaken by the BCG looked into the opportunities and challenges created by the transition of the automotive industry towards electrification. The study shows that shift to EVs will have only a minor net impact on jobs through to 2030.
The relatively small net impact should not, however, obscure the massive structural changes resulting from electrification. Changes in production will modify both the skills requirements and distribution of labour. Over the next decade, direct employment in carmakers and ICE-focused suppliers will decrease by 5%, while the workforce in adjacent industries’ will increase by 34%. On top of this large transfer from core automotive industries to adjacent industries, a further 40k jobs will be created each year in construction and civil works for adapting energy production and distribution infrastructures needed for electrification.
By 2030, the job profile of 2.4mn positions will change, with different degrees of training needs to prepare them for future job demands, which means 42% of all employees in the core automotive and adjacent industries will have dedicated training needs. Specifically, 1.6mnwill require retraining, while remaining in their current position; another 610k will need requalification while remaining in the same industry cluster; and 225k people will need support to requalify for work in other industries outside the automotive ecosystem. Some regions – those more dependent on the traditional automotive sector – will feel this impact more acutely, so it is vital that governments provide policies and support to help those regions adapt to the coming change.
The right political and regulatory choices will help workers fully grab the upskilling opportunity created by the transition to electromobility. To support workers during this transition: the EU, governments and companies should prioritise programmes that invest in the education, training, upskilling and reskilling of the labour force to capitalise on new opportunities, raising the bar on employment conditions, to ensure no one is left behind.
The social changes triggered by the Fit for 55 should be tackled with similar levels of ambition by empowering companies, governments and regional authorities to equip the workforce with new skillsets.
Workers in the automotive sector should benefit from a policy framework similar to the Just Transition Fund, Just Transition Platform and Just Transition Mechanism for the energy-intensive industries and assist industrial stakeholders, local, regional and national authorities to:
For industrial stakeholders, support will be needed to design requalification and upskilling programmes and hiring as well as restructuring programmes. Rapid growth of adjacent industries (like battery manufacturing and charging stations operations and production) should be underpinned by ambitious requalification and upskilling and targets. Support should be provided, particularly for SMEs and fast-growing enterprises, as they will lack the analytics and training resources of bigger companies.
Relocations should be avoided where possible by adapting existing production plants, and training for new skills where they are needed. Via their industrial, attractiveness and educations competences, local and regional authorities will play a key role in addressing the knowledge gaps in the workforce. The new ESF+ should be an instrument for supporting local and regional authorities.
Governments need to perform ‘whole-of-economy’ workforce planning in close cooperation with regional and local authorities and industrial stakeholders to:
- Help employers and employees manage their transitions.
- Tailor educational curricula towards new automotive technologies.
- Build new career and employment platforms to help workers navigate to jobs and training opportunities.
- Increase student seats at universities in new automotive technologies and production/process engineering.
Source: https://web-assets.bcg.com/82/0a/17e745504e46b5981b74fadba825/is-e-mobility-a-green-boost.pdf
Our Contribution for an e-mobility friendly taxonomy
EU TaxonomyRecommendations for an e-mobility friendly Taxonomy
The members of the Platform for electromobility, which brings together more than 40 members from across all transport modes, are fully committed to promote sustainable mobility solutions and contribute to the on-going European green transition.
The Platform welcomes the EU’s initiative to establish a European Taxonomy to classify economic activities and direct public and private funding towards sustainable investments. This will be essential to achieve the ambitious climate targets of 2030 and 2050 set by the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy . As transport is responsible for 27% of emissions at EU level, the European Taxonomy will play a key role in informing investors on sustainable transport activities and guiding decisions towards green investments.
Following the first reporting exercise of 2022 and the Commission’s intention to focus on the “usability” of the published Taxonomy delegated acts, the Platform would like to relay a number of observations commonly shared by its members representing the whole electromobility value chain.
- Some of the key players in the e-mobility value chain, such as the main suppliers, do not necessarily have all their economic activities covered by the taxonomy categories included in the climate delegated act, despite their significant contribution to the manufacturing of more sustainable products (BEVs, trains, etc.). This is mainly due to the fact that the taxonomy categories mainly focus on the activities of the OEMs and not necessarily on the activities of upstream suppliers[1].
- The Platform’s proposal would be to allow suppliers and subcontractors to disclose their activities in the same category as the corresponding OEM activity, particularly where these upstream activities supply single purpose technologies to be used exclusively in taxonomy-aligned assets. This would better reflect their real contribution to sustainable products, while encouraging sustainable financing of the entire electromobility value chain segments
Most of the transport activities are largely covered by the first Climate Delegated Act. Therefore, a number of companies are already preparing to report on the Taxonomy-alignment from 2023. In order to carry out this exercise, the Platform would welcome clarification on the interpretation of the Do No Significant Harm principle (DNSH) criteria on pollution and in particular on the use of substances (listed in Appendix C). These raise usability concerns, because of the difference in scope of the pieces of legislation referred to in Appendix C (notably REACH and RoHS) and the requirements of that appendix. In particular, the concept of essential use not defined in EU legislation may lead to differences in appreciations by economic operators. As a result, the information available to taxonomy users may be lacking.
- In order to avoid difficulties in proving alignment with the DNSH criteria and differences in the implementation thereof, the Platform calls for the Commission to ensure that the information gap is bridged.
- A number of delegated acts and derived documents (e.g. FAQs,) were published well after the adoption of the taxonomy regulation, even though the first eligibility reporting exercise for activities covered by the climate delegated act was required in 2022.
- The Electromobility Platform requests the stakeholders to be given appropriate time to prepare for the reporting and to have all the necessary clarifications and interpretations to fully implement all three sets of alignment criteria (substantial contribution, DNSH and minimum safeguards).
- The EC considers that the largest part of investments to complete the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is estimated to originate from public funding (national public funds, EU funds) and would amount to €244.2 billion over 2021-2050. However, to complete the core infrastructure of the TEN-T for all modes of transport, €750 billion between 2016 and 2030[2] is required. Considering the public funding contribution will cover only a limited part, a massive private investment injection will still be needed to complete the TEN-T infrastructure and achieve decarbonization objectives in the coming years.
- The Platform’s calls the European Commission to ensure a full taxonomy eligibility of electromobility members’ economic activities in order to preserve the future required investments for the e-mobility sector.
All these elements should be taken into account when amending the existing delegated acts and adopting future delegated acts & FAQs. In particular, these considerations should enhance the positive signal of the Taxonomy for electromobility technologies, which will contribute to decarbonising transport, at a time when the Green Deal objectives need more than ever to be accompanied by a coherent Taxonomy framework to finance the transition.
[1] Sometimes the NACE codes included in the Climate Delegated Act appear to be not entirely exhaustive and sometimes even misleading. [2] According to the latest Core Network Corridor Work Plans,
New consumer study shows that the EV transition is inevitable
New Study
European consumers want electric vehicles
The Platform for electromobility – representing more than 45 organisations from industry, civil society and cities, and across all transport modes – released a report carried out by Element Energy on consumer’s perception on the shift to electric vehicles (EV). The study, which surveyed 14,000 new car buyers across Europe shows that consumers are ready to move to electric.




Our policy recommendations
Significantly strengthen CO2 standards for passenger cars and vans targets
The importance of upfront cost in unlocking massive EV uptake highlights the need for ambitious regulation on CO2 Standards for cars and vans to ensure production scale up during the 2020s. An ambitious legislation will increase the offer and promote the market uptake of zero-emission vehicles. With an increased market, zero-emissions vehicles will also become more affordable at purchase price with a continuously reduced total cost of ownership and more choice for consumers and will also help tackle air quality and noise issues, bringing an overall benefit to society. As detailed above, the study confirms the feasibility of new proposed interim targets will be met by strong consumer demand.
Under the CO2 standards for passenger cars and vans, introduce a new provision to electrify corporate fleets
The study demonstrates the importance of corporate fleets in driving markets for electric vehicles. The Platform for electromobility therefore proposes to mandate the decarbonisation of corporate cars by 2030. In a previous communication, the group outlined the environmental and social benefits which such an EU-level mandate could bring. One major motive is for the EU to act quickly and decisively electrify a segment representing over 60% of vehicles sales in Europe and subsequently create a sufficient second-hand market by 2035 as most private consumers use this channel. To enshrine electrification objectives for corporate fleets in EU law, the Platform support the proposition by Rapporteur Huitema to revise the Clean Vehicles Directive (CVD). Its scope could be extended to corporate fleets as part of the revision of the CO2 Standards for cars and vans Regulation.
Do not introduce fuel crediting in the CO2 standards for passenger cars and vans
The study shows e-fuels as a dead-end solution for consumers. Even at a seemingly unreachable price parity with BEVs, consumers would still opt for the electric option. The Platform is opposed to introduction of a fuel crediting mechanism that would consider the contribution of renewable and low carbon fuels in the compliance assessment for each manufacturer. Policies focused on decarbonising fuels and those focused on reducing emissions from cars and vans must remain in separate legal instruments.
Under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, we need more ambitious targets for EV uptake
The Platform for electromobility believes the Commission’s AFIR proposal is a good start but, to ensure charging points keep up with the EV uptake, the level of ambition of the mandatory targets for light-duty vehicles must be doubled. For long distance journeys, the targets for the TEN-T comprehensive network should be brought forward to 2025.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive should facilitate the access to private charging
The revision of EPBD must ensure the right-to-plug to all EV users in order to facilitate the installation of charging infrastructure for tenants and properties under shared ownership. Drivers willing to make the transformation often face diverse obstacles: latency between requesting a charger and installation, installation of charging infrastructure for tenants and properties under shared ownership, lack of electrical pre-equipment in collective electrical installations etc. Smart charging is also required in all types of buildings as it provides benefits to both the power sector and the EV users. The revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is therefore very timely to address those challenges and ensure a minimum level of charging points in all off-street parking lots.
Our key findings and recommendations to make the European Green Deal an employment success
Executive Summary of the study “E-mobility: a green boost for European automotive jobs?” for policy makers
The Platform for electromobility has facilitated a report (and data set) – undertaken by the Boston Consulting Group – on the impact of the shift to electric vehicles production on automotive jobs in Europe. The Platform for electromobility represents 45 organisations from industry, civil society and cities that employ around 650,000 people globally.
This study takes a deep dive into the likely opportunities and challenges that will be created by the transformation of the automotive industry in the coming 10 years. Ensuring that workers are guided and accompanied through this transition will be the key to the success of the industry and to preparing them for the jobs of the future.
Key findings: a comprehensive and inevitable transformation
The automotive industry was deeply impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and will likely need several years to reach pre-pandemic levels of production and profitability. Prior to the pandemic, manufacturers were producing approximately 17.7 million light vehicles in Europe with an overall production value of approximately €700 billion.
The study shows that the industry will rebound, with a shift from internal combustion engines (ICEs) to electric vehicles (EVs). By 2030, some 59% of sales in Europe will come from electric vehicles (70% if plug-in hybrids are included). Alongside electrification, digitalisation will be the second pillar underpinning the carmakers’ recovery: the study projects that the value of software included in cars will increase by 11% each year. Based on the projected volumes of production and sales for 2030, the study concludes that – across the 26 industries within scope of the research, which represent 5.7 million jobs – overall employment is forecast to remain essentially stable compared to the 2019 baseline, with minimal variations in job numbers. Although electrification will contribute in part to these slight variations, the study predicts that EVs will have only a minor net impact on jobs through to 2030, contrary to what some observers expect.
This relatively small net figure should not, however, obscure the massive structural changes resulting from the shift to electrification. Changes in production will modify both the skills requirements and distribution of labour. Over the decade, direct employment in carmakers and ICE-focused suppliers will decrease by 5%, while adjacent industries’ workforce – such as those in energy production and charging infrastructure – will increase by 34%. This transfer from core automotive industries to adjacent industries is examined in detail in the report. It shows that – with more than 580,000 new jobs created by shift to EVs – production of these vehicles will be the main driver for job creation in the automotive ecosystem.

On top of these jobs, a further 40,000 will be created each year by construction and civil works for adapting energy production and distribution infrastructures. Without the shift to EVs, these economic opportunities would not exist at all. The study also expects electromobility to act as a catalyst for further activities in other adjacent sectors to the automotive industry. In the energy domain, we expect 60,000 new jobs to be created.
Overall, the effects on employment in the core automotive sectors caused by the product changes arising from the EV shift will be compensated for by new opportunities created by the electromobility ecosystem. These will be driven, for example, by growth in battery production and charging infrastructure. This finding is all the more significant given that a failure to electrify would likely lead to competitive disadvantages and subsequent significant job losses across European industry.
The report estimates that, by 2030, 2.8 million workers will need to be hired and the job profile of 2.4 million positions will change, with different degrees of training needs to prepare them for future job demands. By 2030, 42% of all employees in the core automotive and adjacent industries will have dedicated training needs. Specifically, 1.6 million will require retraining, while remaining in their current position; another 610,000 will need requalification while remaining in the same industry cluster; 225,000 people will need support to requalify for work in other industries outside the automotive ecosystem. Some of this impact will be felt at local or regional levels, so it is vital that governments provide policies to help those regions adapt to the coming change.
Our recommendations: The need for a robust framework to master the transition
The transition to electromobility does not pose a threat but rather an upskilling opportunity for workers. With the correct political and regulatory choices, the outlook is bright for one of Europe’s strategic industries and its workforce.
It is vital to support workers during this transition to electromobility: the EU, governments and companies should prioritise programmes that invest in the education, training, upskilling and reskilling of the labour force to capitalise on new opportunities, raising the bar on employment conditions, to ensure no one is left behind. This will be an investment for future generations and for the environment.
The Platform welcomed the ambitious ‘Fit for 55’ package unveiled in July, but the social changes this will trigger should be tackled with similar levels of ambition. A fair Green Deal must empower companies, governments and regional authorities to equip the workforce with new skillsets.
European Institutions: Workers in the automotive sector should benefit from a policy framework similar to that already flourishing in the energy-intensive industries, thanks to the Just Transition Fund, Just Transition Platform and Just Transition Mechanism. This new policy framework should assist industrial stakeholders, local, regional and national authorities in accomplishing the following steps:
Industrial stakeholders: For employers – and notably carmakers – support will be needed to design requalification and upskilling programmes and hiring as well as restructuring programmes. Battery manufacturing and the deployment of infrastructure both for distribution via charging stations and production via renewable energy will be a core provider of jobs during this transition. Their rapid growth should be underpinned by ambitious regulations and targets. Support should be provided, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises during the transitions, as they will lack the analytics and training resources of bigger companies.
Local and regional authorities: Behind these numbers lie human lives and territories where they live. Relocations should thus be avoided where possible by adapting existing production plants, and training for new skills where they are needed. Local and regional authorities will play a key role in addressing the knowledge gaps in the workforce both for EV production and for the full EV system and value chain. The new ESF+ should be an instrument for supporting local and regional authorities in this field.
National governments: Governments need to perform holistic, ‘whole-of-economy’ workforce planning at a national level. This needs to be done in close cooperation with regional and local authorities as well as industrial stakeholders, and must include advanced models for supply and demand, such as:
- Helping employees manage their transitions. It is essential to rethink education and reskilling and provide additional initiatives; the main challenges, such as the need to requalify workers for a different industry, should receive the highest priority.
- Tailoring educational curricula appropriately. For young people entering education, Governments will need to gear them – and for job seekers – towards new automotive technologies.
- Building new career and employment platforms. The public sector should help workers to navigate to jobs and training opportunities more quickly and easily.
- Updating social safety nets. These will need to be revised in order to promote up- and re-skilling during transitions, as well as supporting part-time workers and those people unable to adapt to new challenges.
They reported our study:
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Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/autos-europe-electric-jobs-idINKBN2GN26J
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Politico : https://pro.politico.eu/news/politico-pro-morning-mobility-vw-compensation-pressure-imo-climate-neutrality-call-fit-for-55-costs?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=bfe97b311b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_09_29_04_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-bfe97b311b-190774208
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Ends Europe : https://www.endseurope.com/article/1728880/ev-transition-will-minor-impact-total-auto-jobs-study-finds
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Euractiv: https://www.euractiv.com/section/electric-cars/news/shift-to-evs-means-huge-reskilling-job-for-europe-report/
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Automotive News Europe: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/shift-evs-means-huge-reskilling-job-europe-study-says?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210928&utm_content=hero-headline
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Yahoo Finance: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/shift-evs-means-huge-reskilling-220920083.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJrlwm12aslHP0qvGsu8voim-hoYJP2N9ur-AIvpgwL_Od1kwmrZUxk8yoc0amUzdOmXbfK66OWJ9jy0G1vdaLp9GesVGoKUybo_vJjaTEJ5YBosvGpbArsBwezSDMOcmW61uC4zosOHkYjW3Qxl44tzETmYU5DVyJqIfLevbmFx
Denmark
China:
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MSN: https://www.msn.com/zh-tw/money/topstories/%E6%A2%85%E5%85%8B%E7%88%BE%E5%9C%A8%E4%BD%8D16%E5%B9%B4-%E5%BE%B7%E5%9C%8B%E6%95%B8%E4%BD%8D%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E5%8C%B1%E4%B9%8F-%E6%8A%80%E8%A1%93%E8%90%BD%E5%BE%8C%E7%89%B9%E6%96%AF%E6%8B%89/ar-AAOTh2w
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Technews: https://technews.tw/2021/09/28/merkel-reigned-for-16-years/
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Shenzen Daily: http://www.szdaily.com/content/2021-09/29/content_24610041.htm
UK
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UK Investing: https://uk.investing.com/news/commodities-news/shift-to-evs-means-huge-reskilling-job-for-europe--report-2472496
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Business Fast: https://www.businessfast.co.uk/shift-to-evs-means-huge-reskilling-job-for-europe-report/
Italy
InsideEV Italia : https://insideevs.it/news/536915/auto-elettrica-posti-lavoro-bcg/
Position paper on CO2 standards for cars and vans
Position paper on CO2
Standards for cars and vans
The Platform for Electromobility supports the overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 55% by 2030 and the climate neutrality objective by 2050. Reducing – and ultimately eliminating – emissions from cars, vans and trucks will be key to achieving these objectives.
The Platform for Electromobility would like to emphasise that the EU CO2 standards regulation delivers genuine benefits for transport, setting clear signals to both car makers and consumers on the required pace for the transition to zero-emission mobility. This regulation is the most effective way to do so, when compared to the extension of the ETS system to road transport.
The future cars and vans CO2 legislation will increase the offer and promote the market uptake of zero-emission vehicles. With an increased market, zero-emissions vehicles will also become more affordable with a continuously reduced total cost of ownership and more choice for consumers and will also help tackle air quality and noise issues, bringing an overall benefit to society.

For Europe to become carbon neutral by 2050, road transport needs to be entirely decarbonised by this date. Considering the average retirement age of petrol and diesel vehicles in Europe (around 15 years), the Platform for Electromobility believes that an EU-wide phase-out date for sales of new pure internal combustion engine passenger cars and vans no later than 2035 is necessary to achieve this objective with a clear emissions reductions trajectory. After 2035 looking at the overall life cycle carbon footprint of vehicles could be a relevant factor to consider.
Setting binding annual CO2 targets would be optimal from a climate perspective and would ensure a continuous CO2 emissions reduction trajectory. Such targets should follow a long-term emission reduction trajectory to ensure sufficient visibility for industry (ensuring annual targets are set sufficiently in advance, and minimum of 5 years). The current design of the car and vans CO2 regulation targets – whereby targets kick-in in five years intervals with no emission reductions required in between – is suboptimal from a climate perspective and means CO2 emissions actually increase in between, as was seen between 2016 and 2019 from new car sales.
The revised regulation should set significantly higher targets for CO2 emissions from 2030 and adding a binding interim target in 2027 of at least 37,5% CO2 emissions reduction (a date consistent with the technology reset required by the Euro 7 emission standard) to secure a more linear CO2 emission target trajectory and ensure new vehicles can fairly contribute to the higher overall GHG reduction target for 2030.
In addition to the CO2 targets, a mechanism incentivising zero-and low-emissions vehicles (ZLEV) should be maintained in the period up to 2030. Only zero-emissions vehicles should be eligible for the incentive system, as well as vehicles with emissions below a threshold lower than 40 g CO2/km. Ultimately, the ZLEV benchmark/mandate level should be adapted from 2030 onwards, and only zero-emission vehicles should be eligible for any incentive system. The Platform for Electromobility considers that another incentive type could be envisaged – based on an accurate impact assessment and analysis – in the form of a bonus-malus for the period up to 2030 with a realistic threshold. After 2030, the bonus would be removed to be replaced by a unique malus.

In addition, regarding specificities of vans (professional purposes, goods & persons transport) it should be considered to differentiate between the target levels for cars and vans until 2035.
The Platform is opposed to any mechanism that would consider the contribution of renewable and low carbon fuels in the compliance assessment for each manufacturer. Policies focused on decarbonising fuels and those focused on reducing emissions from cars and vans must remain in separate legal instruments.
We would like to underline that new skills and qualifications for workers in the automotive value chain will be needed. Excess emission premiums, which are paid by OEMs whose average specific emissions of CO2 exceeded their specific targets and whose amounts are considered as a revenue for the general budget of the EU, should be allocated to a new or existing fund or relevant programme with the objective of ensuring a just transition towards a climate-neutral economy, in particular to support re-skilling, up-skilling and other skills training and reallocation of workers in the automotive sector and ecosystem.
Data collected from fuel consumption meters (FCMs) – fitted as standard on all new cars from 2021 onwards – should be used for consumer information and vehicle labelling purposes, either via a review of the car labelling directive, or via direct amendments to the cars CO2 regulation, and from 2025 onwards be used for compliance with CO2 targets.
The Platform supports removing the target mass adjustment mechanism. Removing the target mass-adjustment mechanism has many benefits: it removes a structural weakening of the regulation; ensures that all carmakers have the same target therefore pushing the larger and more polluting segments to electrify more rapidly, in line with their heavier climate impact; and it simplifies the regulation.

The decarbonisation of the transport sector needs a holistic approach. The planned revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID) needs to support the harmonised roll-out of a high-quality charging infrastructure for BEVs. It should be turned into a regulation for road transport infrastructure and set minimum mandatory targets per Member States for the deployment of publicly accessible charging points with a minimum quality service requirement that are accessible for every consumer.
The Platform for Electromobility urges the Commission to seize the unique opportunity of the Fit for 55 package and of the Green Recovery Fund to achieve the EU Green Deal’s goal to fully decarbonise road transport by 2050 and make electromobility a lifelong reality.