Automotive: the end of the thermal world is taking shape (timidly) at COP26 – BFM Business

Six car manufacturers are due to sign an agreement on Wednesday to stop producing vehicles with thermal engines in 2040. An announcement that echoes commitments already made by several countries but which is not followed by the largest groups.

COP26 is slowly shaping a carbon-free future for the automobile. This Wednesday, several countries, cities but above all six manufacturers will indeed sign an agreement to gradually cease the production of heat engine models by 2040 and push for the electrification of this industry.

“Together, we will work so that all sales of new cars and vans are zero emission worldwide by 2040, and no later than 2035 in the main markets”, we read in the document.

Ford, GM, Volvo, Mercedes or even BYD or Jaguar Land Rover

The Americans Ford and General Motors, the German Mercedes, the English Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), but also the Chinese manufacturer BYD, Volvo and a subsidiary of Tata Motors have notably signed this text which should lead them to no longer market gasoline and diesel vehicles “in the main markets by 2035 or before”.

This text has also been signed by 24 countries, including some with developed electricity markets such as the Netherlands and Norway. Austria, Canada, Denmark, Morocco and the United Kingdom are also signatories, as is India (a strong signal). Large global metropolises like Atlanta, Barcelona, ​​New York City, Los Angeles or Rome and companies like Uber are also parties to this agreement.

Important point: the manufacturers evoke in this commitment vehicles “accessible, affordable and sustainable in all regions by 2030”. The price is still a determining variable in favoring the switch from thermal to electric, hence the maintenance of public aid for the purchase of these vehicles in many countries, including France.

An agreement “difficult” to sign

This agreement is the first to deal with transport within the framework of the COP. But this first effort remains very timid. First of all, the major markets (United States, Germany, China in particular) as well as the largest manufacturers (Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Hyundai) are not signatories.

In addition, if this is a first because several manufacturers are tuning their strategies, several are only taking back the commitments they had already announced. Volvo had already acted in March 2021 to become a 100% electric brand by 2030, ditto for JLR which no longer intends to sell new thermal models from 2025 or Ford which aims for a 100% zero emission range in Europe by 2030 Beyond the dates, the agreement, which is intended to be non-binding, does not provide figures on the CO2 emissions achieved, as underlined The echoes.

Neither France nor the two French manufacturers have signed this agreement. “France is totally committed to the electrification of the automobile”, explained this morning on France Inter the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, recalling that models with thermal engines “continue to be produced in France “. In a statement, Toyota also reacted, specifying that it was “difficult” to sign the text “for the moment”.

“We respect the philosophy and the objectives which are discussed at the COP26 and obviously we want to take up the same challenges”, assures AFP Kohei Yoshida, a senior official of ZEV Factory, the division of Toyota dedicated to the development of zero emission vehicles. .

“But progress is being made at different rates depending on the region,” he continues. The fact that each actor “tries to make efforts towards carbon neutrality matters more than having a common declaration”.

Leader of the hybrid, the Japanese manufacturer does not want to see this technology disappear too quickly. The hybrid is also at the center of discussions in Brussels. The Commission announced this summer that the sale of combustion vehicles would be banned by 2035, but according to what regulations? Will plug-in hybrids be affected? This technology is one of the strengths of French manufacturers.

“The absence of the main states involved in the automobile industry is damaging,” believes Diane Strauss, spokesperson for France for the Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment, to World. In particular, President Macron’s arbitration in favor of hybrids is blocking progress. This does not bode well for the French presidency of the European Union and for the ongoing negotiations within the EU on the climate package “.

The question of a global agreement is also a question for several manufacturers. Like Volkswagen, which according to Le Monde, would not be ready to sign because the generalization of the electric car would not make sense in countries where electricity is not carbon-free. Like China.