Yesterday the European Commission published its Automotive Package, which was intended to deliver on the commitments made to European workers following the Industry Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector. It is made of four proposals : a revision of the CO2 standards regulation, a regulation to green corporate fleet, the Battery Booster and the automotive omnibus.

For industriAll Europe, while Europe must keep its compass in the direction of reaching climate neutrality by 2050, it must also defend its industrial base with local content requirements and secure a Just Transition for all workers with binding social conditionalities. The automotive industry has long complained that the 2035 target was a brake. Now that this brake has been released, we need to move forward at full speed.

Flexibility for industry must bring guarantees for workers

The Commission has responded to industry demands by introducing flexibility into the emission reduction framework for 2035, including the possibility to register powertrains such as Plug-in Hybrid, range-extenders and Internal Combustion Engines running with low-carbon fuels beyond that date.
While the Commission foresees compensating this flexibility through additional requirements for car manufacturers – for example on the use of European green steel – industriAll Europe warns that flexibility without social conditions risks undermining support from workers and society.

“Targeted and limited flexibility must come with strong strings attached. We cannot accept another blank cheque for multinational companies without guarantees for workers,” said Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of industriAll Europe.

“There must be clear commitments to invest in European production sites, European value chains and in the retraining of workers.”

Beyond material sourcing, industriAll Europe calls for robust social conditionalities, including commitments to maintain industrial capacity, prevent site closures and avoid massive redundancies that would lead to the loss of strategic industrial assets and know-how across Europe.

Lack of transparent social impact assessment fuels uncertainty for workers

IndustriAll Europe also raises serious concerns about the handling of the the social impact assessment the European Commission was expected to publish alongside the review of the CO₂ standards (as mandated by the legislation). This report was meant to assess progress made and identify remaining obstacles, including impacts on employment, skills and social dialogue. However, its role and conclusions remain unclear, and no clear links are established between the analysis and the policy choices presented in the automotive package. This lack of transparency risks exacerbating uncertainty and anxiety among workers at a time when the automotive sector is already undergoing profound transformation.

Corporate fleet regulation: demand-side action needs more ambition

The Commission has also published a draft regulation on the greening of corporate fleets, setting national targets for low- and zero-emission vehicles to be reached by 2030 and 2035, with differentiated targets for cars and vans.

IndustriAll Europe has consistently called for strong demand-side measures to support the production of clean vehicles in Europe. Given their share in new registrations, corporate fleets could play a key role in stimulating European production, accelerating fleet renewal and creating a second-hand market for affordable clean cars.

The initiative to introduce an EU regulation and the inclusion of local content requirements are positive steps. Beyond these elements, however, the proposal falls short of expectations.

The exclusion of SMEs will inevitably limit its impact. At the same time, the proposal contains no social conditionalities, failing to address the quality of employment created along the value chain. Moreover, restricting local content requirements to public procurement limits guarantees for domestic production in the European automotive industry and its supply chain.

Simplification must not undermine safety, quality or jobs

Finally, industriAll Europe underlines that the automotive omnibus could be a positive initiative if it genuinely creates the conditions for manufacturing small electric cars in Europe, as announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2025 State of the Union speech. However, regulatory simplification and streamlining must not come at the expense of safety, reliability or workers’ rights.

A successful automotive transition requires ambitious climate action combined with a strong European industrial base and quality jobs.

“Europe needs an automotive strategy that delivers clean mobility and good jobs in Europe. Without binding social and industrial guarantees, this package will fall short,” concluded Judith Kirton-Darling.

Key elements of the package announced

  • The European Commission’s automotive package introduces flexibility around the 2035 CO₂ framework following industry demands, without providing binding safeguards for workers despite modest efforts to foster “Made in Europe cars”.
  • Flexibility for car manufacturers on emissions is conditional to the commitment to use European green steel whereas Small electric vehicles made in Europe will be incentivized.
  • But flexibility is not accompanied by strong social, employment or investment conditionalities.
  • The lack of transparency around the CO₂ Progress Report raises concerns about employment, skills and social dialogue.
  • Measures to green corporate fleets do not fully deliver on their potential due to limited scope and the absence of social conditionalities.