In a letter to EU leaders, ACEA has asked the European Commission and EU Member States to consider a temporary change to the battery rules of origin in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), warning that the requirements due to apply from January 2027 cannot be met by European vehicle manufacturers.
In 2027, the EU is expected to export 520,000 electric passenger cars and vans to the UK, worth an estimated €17.9 billion. Under the rules currently foreseen, 82% of these exports would not meet the rules of origin requirements and would face a 10% customs duty, at an estimated cost of €1.47 billion in 2027 alone. The letter warns that this could affect the competitiveness and market share of European manufacturers in the UK, with consequences for Europe’s emerging battery and electric vehicle industries.
ACEA supports the objective of building local battery production in Europe, and manufacturers have already made significant investments towards this goal. However, the full capacity resulting from these investments will only become available over the coming years. ACEA therefore proposes keeping a more flexible rule based on battery pack assembly until the end of 2029, before introducing stricter localisation requirements for battery cells from 2030 and cathode material from 2032. A similar approach could be applied to heavy-duty trucks but would need to take account of their longer localisation timeline. (....)