€1bn for driverless cars in Europe’s €50bn automotive plan
The European Commission has proposed a €50bn action plan for the automotive industry that includes €1.8bn for battery manufacturing and €1bn for driverless cars.
“We have just adopted an Industrial Action Plan for the Automotive Sector,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism. “It is a plan to keep Europe’s carmakers, suppliers and related service sectors innovative, competitive, and firmly anchored in Europe. For Europeans the automotive industry is part of our history and a source of pride but today it is under threat,” he said.
“Supply chain risks, energy costs, staff shortages, protectionism and over-reliance on imported supplies are putting immense pressure on the industry. Our companies are falling behind on key strategic technologies like batteries, software and autonomous driving,” he said.
The automotive industry contributes 7% to EU GDP and employs around 13.8 million people directly and indirectly.
The plan, flagged by commission president Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week, includes up to €50bn from the InvestEU programme for clean tech and clean mobility as well as €1.8bn from the Innovation Fund for battery manufacturing and €1bn from Horizon Europe for connected and autonomous vehicles and batteries. For battery production a new European Critical Raw Materials Centre will offer automotive companies access to lower-cost materials for batteries from 2026.
The Commission will also encourage national legislation for driverless cars as Chinese operator WeRide rolls out the first commercial driverless shuttle service in Europe in collaboration with Renault.
“No country has a complete rulebook for autonomous vehicle use, but China and the US are ahead with on-road testing and commercial operations,” said Tzitzikostas. “So now is the time to draw on one of the EU’s biggest strengths: Our Single Market,” he said, “We will gradually harmonise EU legislation, and already in 2025, we will do what needs to be done so that all cars have automated parking systems. Large-scale, cross-border testbeds will help us understand traffic implications and a European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance will target cutting-edge software, in-vehicle computing and AI solutions.”
There will also be €570m from the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility for charging points, with a focus on trucks as well as €90m from Erasmus+ for workforce training as well as additional funding for SMEs.
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