CO2 quotas: Automobile lobbies have obtained their softening
Appeared in Europe in 2020, CAFE standards (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) fix each manufacturer an average emission threshold for its cars sold in the EU. These standards made a lot of talk when they entered into force because they imposed an average of only 115.1 g of CO2/km for the automotive industry (WLTP protocol), then difficult to reach for the majority of manufacturers.
However, we have talked much less of CAFE standards since and, from 2022, the manufacturers even reached avoid EU fines. For good reason, Europe plans to tighten these emission thresholds every five years only, with a new level from 2025, this time set for an average of 93.6 g of CO2/km (WLTP protocol).
Some leaders of the largest car manufacturers, however, sounded the alarm to the EU, arguing that the growth in sales of electric cars slower than hoped not to reach this new threshold this year. Their voice was heard since the European Parliament voted, on May 8, 2025, a proposal from the commission aimed at softening these cafe standards.
A smoothed calculation over three years
Thus, the text “offers manufacturers the possibility of complying with their obligations for the years 2025, 2026 and 2027 by calculating the average of their performance over the three -year period, rather than each year in a separate way”explains the European Parliament. The amount of any fines will therefore only be calculated after three years, giving the manufacturers time to counterbalance emissions which would still be too large this year, for example.
As a reminder, manufacturers have the possibility of allying in order to train poolsand thus to pool their programs. This allows the most polluting car marks to drown these emissions and avoid fines by associating with brands more ahead of their electrification. The latter of course invoice the service, such as Tesla, which has made it a major source of income.
