Overview

• Oliver Zipse described the EU’s 31 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles and the 2035 combustion-engine sales ban as a “disaster” that jeopardizes investment and competitiveness.
• He anticipates the EU will scrap or amend the 2035 prohibition within three years because the regulation is too costly and deters innovation.
• Zipse urged Brussels to adopt technology-neutral, lifecycle-based emissions rules that include e-fuels, low-CO₂ diesel blends and hydrogen alongside battery vehicles.
• He expressed confidence that US-EU negotiations will deliver a bilateral tariff-offset framework, an approach also supported by Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz to mitigate import duties.
• He warned Germany’s power grid will only support half of all vehicles with electricity for the next three to four decades and said BMW is converting its Munich plant into an EV-only facility while building a new electric-vehicle factory.