30m EVs for EU by 2030

The European Union needs more than 30 million zero-emission vehicles on its roads by 2030.

That’s as the EU seeks to steer countries away from fossil fuel-based transport, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

It says the European Commission will shortly reveal measures in a strategy to tackle the 25% of EU greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.

The document says the EU’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 cannot be reached without introducing very ambitious measures to reduce transport’s reliance on fossil fuels, Reuters explains.

That includes requirements for more than 30 million zero-emission vehicles by 2030.

About 1.8 million electrics and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) were registered in Europe at the end of 2019.

Countries such as the United Kingdom and France are banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars from around 2030 or 2040, but the EU document estimates Europe will need three million public charging points (it has about 200,000) and 1000 hydrogen fuelling stations by 2030, Reuters says.

The EU will in 2021 propose tighter CO2 emissions standards for cars and vans from 2025, and the draft document says these could be expanded to cover buses, it adds.

Further changes suggested include doubling of Europe’s high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and introducing zero-emission aircraft and ships by 2035.