New cars must consist of much more recycling. In fact, car brands should not be allowed to build cars without thinking in terms of a so-called circular economy, the EU believes.
The tightening of regulations on drivers is a never-ending drain on the EU's finances in Brussels and Strasbourg. And now it's the turn of car brands. Again.
Car brands will not only have to meet stricter CO2 requirements. With a new proposal, the European Commission will prohibit car manufacturers from building cars that do not take into account a so-called circular economy.
This is what Bild writes.
This means that the materials must be kept alive for as long as possible. And even when they have reached the end of their useful life, consideration must be given to how the materials can best be recycled and sent back into the 'economy'.
According to the German newspaper, the European Commission will soon set requirements for everything from the ease of replacing individual parts to the recyclability of raw materials.
– Circular economy is also a crucial factor for the automotive industry to increase competitiveness and become more crisis-proof, says Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke.
However, the German environmental organization DUH criticizes the proposal for not containing any restrictions that do not 'stop the trend towards ever larger cars'. DUH also complains that the EU draft does not propose to punish car manufacturers who do not use used spare parts.
According to the EU's own figures, the automotive industry is one of the heaviest industries in the entire union. At least when it comes to production. For example, car brands take up 19 percent of all the steel produced in Europe every year.
10 percent of all plastic in the EU also finds its way into new cars. And a full 42 percent of all new aluminum goes into car production every year.
The German car manufacturers' association generally welcomes the EU Commission's proposal. However, the Germans are ready to go even further. The organization wants to ban all sales of gasoline and diesel. Read more about it here .
