2023-11-06 09:33:28
The observation will not surprise many of us but, in figures, it is even more striking: “The five largest European car manufacturers have increased the prices of their cheapest models by 41% on average since 2019”, denounces the Transport & Environment (T&E) organization, “nearly double the cumulative inflation rate during this period. »
The NGO cites, in particular, the prices of the Peugeot 208, Seat Ibiza or Renault Twingo, which have increased by almost 6,000 euros, “an increase of 37 to 56%”. Mercedes’ higher-end A and B class models have seen their prices increase “by more than 10,000 euros, up 38% and 37% respectively.”
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These price increases, which T&E says have risen well beyond inflation levels or the cost of raw materials and other components, “enabled automakers to record record profits of 64 billion euros last year and distribute record dividends of 27 billion euros this year.”
Lobbying « anti-Euro 7 »
This study does not come by chance: it takes place in the context of a possible vote, in the European Parliament, for an increase in anti-pollution standards (Euro 7), once morest which many manufacturers are multiplying their arguments. The first of these: the risk of cars becoming unaffordable for consumers, due to price increases that would be generated by the obligation to apply these new anti-pollution standards. And this, while manufacturers, who are turning massively towards electric engines, reject the idea of further raising standards relating to thermal engines.
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These manufacturers “fought tooth and nail once morest anti-pollution technologies that save lives and cost only 200 euros per car. This is proof that, for European car manufacturers, profit will always come before people,” says Anna Krajinska, head of vehicle emissions and air quality at T&E, who emphasizes that “the automotive industry launched a fierce lobbying campaign to defeat Euro 7.
According to T&E, the European Council and Parliament’s Environment Committee followed the industry’s narrative, watering down the European Commission’s initial, “relatively weak” proposals. regarding the Euro 7 standard. “If nothing is done to reverse this trend, an additional 100 million highly polluting cars will be sold before 2035 and will be on European roads for decades to come. (…) The European Parliament (which will vote on this subject this Wednesday, November 8, Editor’s note) has one last chance to put an end to this blatant injustice. It must act in the interest of all Europeans, not just that of the automobile industry. »
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