- Kia is well on its way to comply with the European Union’s upcoming sales ban on combustion vehicles in 2035.
- That’s in opposition to what the automotive industry association ACEA, led by Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius, said yesterday in a public letter.
- “That is the same guy who, a few years ago, promised his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030,” said Kia Europe CEO Marc Hedrich.
Kia is going against the pack in Europe, proving that some car companies can, in fact, meet the stricter emissions standards that will peak with the effective ban of new internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035 in the European Union.
“We have a plan to achieve 100% compliance in 2035,” Kia Europe CEO Marc Hedrich said last week, quoted by Automotive News, as the automaker began manufacturing the EV4 electric model at its factory in Slovakia.
The European-spec Kia EV4 is built at the company’s factory in Zilina, Slovakia. Photo by: Patrick George
The Korean automaker’s stance is in stark contrast to what the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) said yesterday in a joint letter aimed directly at the European Commission’s boss, Ursula von der Leyen.
In their letter, the two organizations said that under the current circumstances, with growing competition from China and mounting tariffs from the United States, it is “no longer feasible” to achieve the hardening emissions rules. The ACEA and CLEPA are asking the EU to tone down its hardline measures and to allow more types of vehicles to continue to be made, including plug-in hybrids without minimum all-electric range ratings, high-efficiency combustion cars and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
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The ACEA, which is led by Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius, and the CLEPA, which is led by Schaeffler’s powertrain and chassis boss, Matthias Zink, said the European auto industry remains committed to the bloc’s net-zero goal in 2050.
“That is the same guy who, a few years ago, promised his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030,” Kia Europe’s CEO said regarding Ola Kallenius’ comments. Interestingly, Kia is not a member of the ACEA, while its sister company, Hyundai, has been a member of the association since 2012.
The Korean automaker is investing roughly $125 million (€108 million) in its Zilina factory to build the EV4 and EV2 electric models. But that’s just the beginning. “We have an avalanche of electric cars coming, and if we suddenly have to stop launching EVs, it would cost us a fortune,” said Hedrich.
All this being said, Kia is not giving up on cars with combustion engines in Europe. The company’s target is to have all-electric cars account for 74% of its overall sales in Europe by 2030, which means 26% of cars will have some kind of combustion power. “We know this is a transition phase that will last a few years, and we will keep all technologies as long as there is enough customer demand,” Kia Europe’s CEO said.