xxx the 18 / 12 / 2007 10h49
Auto: German manufacturers are afraid of Brussels measures on CO2
Industrial disaster, threat to employment, political maneuvers: German manufacturers, specialists in large sedans, cry out against injustice on the eve of Brussels announcement of CO2 emission reduction targets for cars.
The European Commission is due to present on Wednesday the details of its measures to require manufacturers to offer vehicles that will emit no more than 130 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.
Highly awaited on both sides of the Rhine, they are subject to a veritable Franco-German tussle around the amount and method of calculating the penalties inflicted on offenders.
"The climate war around the car", launches the German economic weekly Wirtschaftwoche this week, with a caricature of French President Nicolas Sarkozy jumping on foot joint on the hood of a Mercedes.
Last week, after the vote of the French bonus-malus, the president of the German Automobile Federation Matthias Wissmann had thus directly accused Paris of wanting to torpedo BMW, Daimler or Volkswagen.
Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel intervened in the debate on Friday: "We will fight for our interests".
German manufacturers, specialists in particularly heavy and fuel-hungry sedans, fear being the first victims of European sanctions. Even if, at Berlin's request, the Commission seems to be moving towards a differentiated grid according to the weight of the vehicles.
"The establishment of CO2 targets could hit them harder than expected," said a study published Monday by the director of the Automotive Research Center (CAR), Ferdinand Dudenhöffer.
According to the simulations he has carried out, assuming a fine of 60 euros per gram and a weight by average weight, almost all high-end German cars would be penalized.
All Porsche cars would be punished by fines between 4.000 and 8.000 euros, plus 10.000 euros for the off-road M6 Mercedes or 11.000 euros for the Audi R8 coupe! Only BMW would pull out of the game.
"The impact on the profitability of high-end manufacturers in Europe will be considerable," concludes Ferdinand Dudenhöffer.
“Yes, German industry will be more affected by the Brussels measures than the others, but with good reason!” Exclaims Jürgen Resch, head of the environmental NGO Umwelthilfe. "Not only has it not made enough efforts in recent years, but it has also marketed vehicles that pollute more and more!"
According to a study published by the European NGO Transport and Environment, the German manufacturers emit 173 grams of CO2 on average, against 144 g for the French. Worse, the country's first two car groups, Daimler and Volkswagen, saw their emissions increase in 2006.
"The population has largely prepared to make sacrifices for the environment, but it is very different in the industry," resumes Mr. Resch.
"It was the Germans who invented and propagated the idea that the car is a symbol of social status", ironically Wolfgang Lohbeck, Greenpeace expert. "They can complain now, but they're like the watered sprinkler!"
The automotive industry employs a total of 740.000 people in Germany and remains the sector that contributes the most to the economy.
source: http://www.boursorama.com/infos/actuali ... ws=4949401
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Hit ......... blah: the very rich who buy these vehicles are not at 10000 euros!
All billionaires Chinese, Russians, US, Qataris, Saudis ......... etc, it will not bother them much to pay a little more expensive, because I will not be made to believe that Brussels will be able to ban the production of these big sedans. Moreover, in Germany they have non-speeding motorways designed to accommodate these vehicles and no one has yet dared to force the Germans to limit their speed on the motorway.
it's the cold weather ?? 
