BMW CEO: EU ban on fuel vehicles “is no longer realistic”

The Zhitong Finance App learned that BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipzer said that Europe's plan to actually ban the sale of fuel vehicles from 2035 will cause its automobile industry to “shrink drastically.”

In his preparatory speech at the Paris Automobile Summit, Chipzer warned that mainland Europe is not ready to give up gasoline and diesel engines, that the EU's plans “are no longer realistic,” and that subsidies for electric vehicles are “unsustainable.”

Internal combustion engines have long been the cornerstone of Europe's industrial landscape and play a critical role in their manufacturing capabilities. This technology has spawned not only the BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz groups, but also a huge supply chain for small and medium-sized enterprises, which produce critical components from pistons to exhaust systems.

The industry is at risk, particularly as automakers move to electric vehicles that require fewer and different inputs. This transformation is a challenge for the European automotive industry, which has been struggling to cope with the elimination of government subsidies and intense competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers such as BYD.

Zipzer said the ban “may also threaten the core of the European automobile industry.” These measures “would cause the entire industry to shrink significantly, according to today's assumptions.”