MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group have expressed their disappointment with the European Commission’s long-awaited Action Plan for the automotive sector, published today.

At a time when European car factories are shutting down, ECR MEPs find it incomprehensible that car manufacturers still face heavy fines for exceeding CO₂ limits on newly produced models. Instead of focusing on deregulation, reducing production costs, or offering tax incentives, the Action Plan is weighed down by bureaucratic partnerships, regulatory bodies, observatories, complex funding mechanisms, and additional compliance requirements. This bureaucratic overreach forces companies to navigate EU structures rather than enabling them to compete freely on the global market.

Alexandr Vondra, ECR Coordinator in the Environment Committee, said:

“The Commission is acting half-heartedly, not really helping car manufacturers. A three-year delay, as proposed by the Commission, is far too little if we are serious about ensuring manufacturers avoid penalties. The fairest solution would be to scrap these fines altogether.”

Daniel Obajtek, ECR Coordinator in the Industry Committee, stated:

“The Commission’s Action Plan is full of grand visions but lacks the practical measures needed to ensure Europe’s competitiveness. Instead of easing the regulatory burden and tackling soaring production costs, it adds layer upon layer of bureaucracy while maintaining rigid climate targets that disadvantage European manufacturers. If we want to sustain a strong automotive industry, we must prioritise innovation, affordable energy, and a level playing field—rather than more top-down prescriptions that risk weakening our industrial base.”

Roberts Zīle, ECR Coordinator in the Transport Committee, criticised the plan, saying:

“The Commission’s proposal completely ignores the urgent need to accelerate the review of similar regulations for trucks. We already see that it is unrealistic to deploy charging hubs for heavy-duty vehicles, especially in peripheral EU regions. Substantial investment is needed to increase electricity grid capacity, which will be paid for by all taxpayers—yet there seems to be little real business interest and business case. We are diverting public funds away from other essential needs.”

Carlo Fidanza, head of the Italian delegation in the ECR Group, said:

“The good news is that the Commission recognises the need to postpone the fines for car manufacturers. The rest remains very disappointing. The exclusion of heavy vehicles from the exemption is absurd, given their even greater technological and market constraints. The vague mention of a future review of the CO₂ regulation ignores the crucial principle of technology neutrality. This plan is still rooted in the ideological approach of the Timmermans era, fixated on electrification alone. We will reiterate these messages in an upcoming resolution that will be voted on in plenary at our initiative—a decision that has now finally been approved by a majority of political groups.”