SWEDISH automaker Volvo Cars said yesterday it was leaving a European lobbying group, which opposed the European Union’s move to put an end the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2035.

“Volvo Cars will leave the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) at the end of 2022,” the carmaker said in a statement to AFP.

“After much consideration, we have concluded that Volvo Cars’ sustainability strategy and ambitions are not fully aligned with Acea’s positioning and way of working at this stage. We therefore believe it is better to take a different path for now,” said the company, which plans to sell only fully electric models by 2030.

The Acea had opposed a decision by the European Parliament in late June that meant a de-facto ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars by the year 2035.

Stressing that it was “premature to fix a target for 2035,” the Acea also raised concerns about whether charging and refuelling infrastructure, for electric and hydrogen vehicles, would be able to keep up to support such an ambitious plan.

Acea, a highly active lobbying organisation in Brussels, includes the 16 major European-based manufacturers, from Volkswagen to Renault, Volvo and Toyota.

Stellantis, Europe’s number two car company formed from the merger of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler, have also said it would leave the Acea in a surprise announcement earlier in July. – AFP, July 9, 2022.