Automakers will need to significantly ramp up sales of full-electric and hybrid vehicles to meet the European Union’s 2025 CO2 emissions targets, despite ongoing scepticism about EVs, according to recent industry research.

Failure to meet these targets will result in fines of €95 per car for every gram of CO2 above the limit. In 2021, automakers collectively paid €550 million in fines for missing their targets, although most brands did manage to comply on time, according to industry research.

Each automaker faces a unique target based on the average mass of their fleet. This means brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which primarily sell large SUVs, have higher CO2 limits compared to brands such as Dacia or Citroën, which focus on smaller, more efficient cars.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume suggested that the EU should reconsider the CO2 targets due to a slowdown in full-electric vehicle sales. He also proposed the possibility of joining an emissions pool with a more efficient automaker to help lower fleet emissions.

Resistance is futile:

The EU’s 2025 fleet average target is set at 93.6 grams of CO2 per kilometer, a substantial reduction from the 116 g/km limit that took effect in 2021.

Among major European automotive groups, only Geely and Tesla have already achieved their 2025 targets. Tesla, which exclusively sells zero-emission electric vehicles, has no difficulty meeting its goal, while Geely benefits from its Volvo brand’s strong sales of full-electric models.

Toyota is nearing its 2025 target due to its large portfolio of low-emission full-hybrids, despite its limited range of full-electric vehicles. In contrast, Ford and Volkswagen Group face the most significant challenges in meeting the upcoming targets.

BMW CEO Oliver Zipse and Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo have called for a review of the targets, with de Meo also addressing regulators directly in an open letter.