French, Italian carmakers protest German actions over emissions proposal
Three automobile manufacturers, two in France and one in Italy, have raised objections to the treatment of German carmakers as the European Commission proposed stringent controls on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The new proposals are the strictest in the world and call for rules that require new cars to emit no more than 120g of carbon per kilometre by 2012. The current average emissions from new cars made in Europe is 161 g/km.
The proposal, which was delayed from when it was first expected to be introduced, was diluted after carmakers protested that the original form of the proposal would add thousands of euros to the cost of a new car as well as eliminate jobs. The complaints came from PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault in France and Fiat of Italy after German chancellor Angela Merkel warned the Commission in a letter last week against proposing targets on emissions that would hurt carmakers, such as German companies DaimlerChrysler and BMW, that make cars that emit higher amounts of carbon than the average. In addition Volkswagen, along with the European divisions of General Motors and Ford Motor, wrote to the European Commission president, calling the Commission proposal “unrealistic” and technically impossible.
The French and Italian carmakers said they were “irritated” because they have worked very hard and spent a great deal of money to produce cars with lower emissions and feel that it would be unfair for them to be penalized in order to “prop up” German companies that produce larger vehicles that emit more carbon. They said that the watered-down proposal makes it look like German is using its presidency of the European Union in order to protect interests in its own country.
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