At the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, a total of just six major automakers signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans, a statement in which the companies pledge to work towards phasing out combustion engine cars by 2040.
During the Climate Summit in Glasgow, 23 countries, including the Netherlands and various small governments, signed a document in which they commit to phasing out cars and commercial vehicles with combustion engines by 2040. Car manufacturers also signed the statement, but by no means all.
Of the automotive companies that sign the climate pledges – which we will come back to later – only a handful are car manufacturers: Ford, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Cars. The names of major manufacturers such as BMW Group, Volkswagen Group, Toyota Motor Company, Hyundai Motor Group and Stellantis are missing. Polestar earlier today strongly criticized manufacturers who do not support the statement. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess says in a statement to Automotive News that the goal of phasing out the combustion engine worldwide by 2040 is not feasible. Countries such as the United States, China and Germany are also largely absent from the list, although American states such as California and New York have signed the document.
With the statement, the signatories pledge to accelerate the transition to completely zero-emission passenger and commercial vehicles. For example, cars with combustion engines should be phased out worldwide by 2040 and in the largest markets even by 2035 or earlier. Fleet managers and car-sharing programs indicate that their entire fleets will consist only of electric cars by 2030.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl