This could be where the European Union solidarity starts crumbling…
When it comes to banning gasoline engines, the European Union has been all-in, all the countries seemingly onboard with the heavy-handed government regulations. That’s what makes news of the Italians lobbying the EU to make an exception to the hard ban on internal combustion engines by 2035 so shocking, at least for some.
There’s more talk about banning older cars in the US. Learn more here.
What the Italian government wants is a legal variance for supercars, an industry which is a matter of national pride and generates significant revenue for the country. Fiats aren’t bringing in the big bucks, so if sales of the tiny little cars drop because electrification makes them even more boring, more expensive, etc. it won’t be a huge loss. However, if the elite stop dropping mad cash on Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Paganis, etc. that will hurt big time.
The argument from Italian government officials reportedly is that supercars are so rare and driven less regularly than those boxes on wheels people call automobiles that they hardly make an environmental impact. After all, Lamborghini and Ferrari sell a small fraction of the cars Toyota or Ford does.
We like this idea and quite frankly don’t see why they can’t make supercars without cats and other emissions equipment. Since they’re so rare and awesome, they should be allowed to not follow anything the EPA says, let alone the EU.
In addition, Italian officials are pointing out how incredibly expensive electrification is, something smaller automakers would have trouble transitioning too since they lack the economies of scale. It’s almost like this push to electrification is a move by auto giants to squeeze out the competition, leaving just a few automakers around the world. That transition, of course, would be super excellent for all us consumers since less competition means better goods and services.
Whether or not the Italians are successful in getting an exception for its storied supercar brands remains to be seen. If not, perhaps we’ll see an Italexit?
Source: Drive
