Faconauto aims for a 20% increase in diesel registrations to meet emission requirements.

Pollutant emissions are a very serious social problem.

The average CO2 emissions of all cars sold in Europe as of 2020 must not exceed 95 grams per kilometer. It is the requirement, with enough regulatory nuances, that the European Union has imposed on the automobile sector and that it seems unlikely compliance in view of the current data of the vast majority of brands.

Faconauto, the employer of car dealers in Spain, has warned of the consequences of these measures during the celebration of the First Automotive Day of the Basque Country. Companies in the sector face fines of 95 euros for each car sold and gram of CO2 that exceeds that limit of 95 g / km, which would result in multimillion dollar amounts, estimated by some estimates at about 30,000 million euros for everything the sector with activity in Europe during the next year.

For Faconauto, the only alternative to avoid these sanctions is to increase sales of diesel cars by 20% and electrified ones by 30%. A trend very different from the current one: in the year 2019, the registrations of diesel vehicles have been reduced by 32.4%, assuming only 27.5% of the total. A reality that has meant an increase in the average CO2 emissions of newly registered cars, reaching 118 g / km, which represents 1.5% more than in the same period of the previous year.

The employer denounces the incongruity of the laws against diesel, especially at a stage in which the implementation of the electric vehicle is still clearly insufficient and residual to contribute to the overall reduction of emissions. According to Faconauto, a state-of-the-art diesel car emits up to 20% less CO2 than a corresponding gasoline one.

Gerardo Pérez, president of Faconauto, lamented the situation that is taking place: “We want to speed up the processes without the technology or the buyers being prepared. The ambitious limits set by the EU are an attempt to accelerate the arrival of decarbonised mobility, an objective that we share in the background but not in the form. The calendar fails us, because, to fulfill them, today the electric vehicle by itself is not the solution, since it is not sufficiently extended, which leads us to have to bet again on the latest generation diesel. The result is the confusion of the buyers and the withdrawal of the market ”.

In the same way, Pérez denounces the pressures that dealers are receiving from the brands they represent and the crisis in their relationship that may occur: “The dealers are collaborating with the brands to see how we can reach a registration commitment that allow us to respond to environmental requirements. However, some manufacturers are transferring the problem to dealerships imposing penalties if they do not meet that goal. It seems to us a great injustice and we ask that at least those objectives be negotiated. Brands that do not want to do so will meet the front opposition of the dealers. ”

Other concerns resulting from the foreseeable fines to the sector is the way in which they can affect the final buyer of the car, considering that some brands assume that it is unfeasible to cover these high penalties from their coffers. In fact, certain models that significantly undermine their average emissions are already being withdrawn from the sale in Europe, while on the other hand the electrification of their ranges has been accelerated to mitigate as much as possible this penalty for their income statements.

El Pais – 18 Sep 2019 – Translation Soft