PARIS (AFP) – The chief executive of French automaker Renault called on Tuesday for a European “Marshall Plan” to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and reduce carbon emissions in the face of Chinese competition.
The post-Second World Ware United States (US) programme helped rebuild Western European economies, and Luca de Meo argued for a similar effort in a series of proposals made to launch a policy debate ahead of European parliamentary elections in June.
“A European Marshall Plan could be put in place to accelerate parc renewal and thus drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” he wrote.
He likened it to the European Union’s (EU) post-COVID recovery plan, saying a special European fund could finance incentives for the purchase of new or used EVs.
Europe aims to phase out the sale of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035 as part of its efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
But with “an onslaught of electric vehicles from China”, de Meo said the European automotive sector needed the EU to develop an industrial strategy, much like it did to encourage the development of planemaker Airbus, and as the Chinese have done for EVs.
