The ongoing debate regarding the switch from endothermic to electric engines has been reignited in recent months due to the terrible performance of the European car market, hit hard by a drop in consumption conditioned by economic trends and the decision to interrupt the production of endothermic engines as of 2035. A significant blow for the European automotive industry, which has long been a globally recognised technological powerhouse but is lagging compared to Asian manufacturers when it comes to electric vehicles and batteries. The reasons for this include delays in the redefinition of strategies, a supply chain dependent on other countries, and a market that is unable to absorb the current offer, characterised by models that don’t suit the needs or spending power of the average European citizen.
What sustainability for the European automotive industry?
As a manufacturer of exhausts for the automotive and motorsport sectors, V system is actively involved in the current debate. The firm’s CEO, Silvia Gaiani, reflects on the various issues, from market trends to the need for a midpoint between the different pillars of sustainability: environmental, financial and social. Any legislation capable of bringing one of the main European industries and its long supply chain to its knees clearly does not equate with a political reasoning that integrates green goals with competitiveness.
“The data speaks for itself, a clear sign that Europe’s stance has many holes from a technical perspective and no vision when it comes to implementation. It is truly incomprehensible why we would want to demolish one of our leading industries and, on top of that, control technological development with legislation, another aspect that is hard to understand. I find it an oxymoron because the legislation should set targets that those developing can aim for, achieving the result in different ways to produce innovation; the exact opposite of what happens if we cancel a line of development – the combustion engine - in favour of one that the market does not want.”
A technology with pros and cons
“Electric has a lot of limitations, environmental too”, continues Gaiani. “These include the use of raw materials for the construction of batteries - rare metals that represent a very serious environmental, social and geopolitical issue, from the exploitation of resources for their extraction, to the destruction of territories, to the relationship with those who live there. To decide that hydrocarbons are the ultimate evil while ignoring these aspects is unacceptable, as is the demonisation of the combustion engine, which in many configurations is an extremely green solution. If we consider Euro 6 and 7 engines, we find few patents and an impoverishment of the European innovative ecosystem because even before these come into force, the exclusive focus on electric is evident. And it is very difficult for an automotive manufacturer to develop on both fronts, with the prospect of a market that will be legislated out. In my opinion, the legislator is acting without the necessary technical competence to understand the implications of what it is trying to implement, moving in a demagogic direction that sees sustainability as an essential paradigm.”
The technological alternatives, from hybrid to biofuels
Sustainability is defined by three pillars: economy, society and environment. If just one of these is missing, then the concept of sustainability has no meaning, given that, according to Gaiani, there are several intermediate alternatives capable of maintaining this balance.
“Hybrid engines, for example, are an excellent solution that combine combustion with electric, and could also integrate biofuels such as e-fuel or synfuel, for example”, continues Silvia. “Though this might not eliminate CO2 emissions altogether, it would clearly result in significantly lower emissions. Let’s not forget that exhausts are responsible for roughly 7% of all emissions in Europe, with the tyres and brake discs having a significant environmental impact in terms of particulate, an issue at the centre of the Euro7 standard. Essentially, we’re identifying only one of the problematic elements, regulating an area that is as good as ignored across the rest of the world and causing our industry to self-destruct. Even advertising talks only of electric engines, as if the combustion engine had already disappeared. And that’s not the case, particularly because with no more incentives, full electric doesn’t sell. Market dynamics are therefore altered by government incentives and legislation which can only be a cause for concern.”
Structural issues of electric mobility
As for the infrastructural component, the limits are even clearer due to a lack of charging columns and an electrical grid that does not have the capacity to support a pool that currently comprises 297 million vehicles.
“The energy used, which is also produced from non-renewable sources, is not cheap nor available in sufficient quantities”, explains Gaiani. “So, we have a polarisation of the market based on a mystification that aims, albeit without success, to push the sales of a market segment that has enormous limitations, both structural, due to the lack of a capillary network, and situational, relating to usability. It’s one thing to use electric in the city for short trips, but quite another to have it as your main form of transportation on long journeys or when out of town.
The unsustainable footprint of a contrived market
The fact that Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, has voiced the firm’s doubts as to electric and that Volkswagen in Germany has announced more than 30,000 redundancies tells of measures that are less than sustainable from a socio-economic standpoint, steered by an ideological market vision. Gaiani has this to say:
“We produce exhausts, so we cannot agree with a decision that kills off the combustion engine market. Our segment – motorsport - has even attempted to foray into electric, but without success, returning to the tradition of classic races with endothermic engines. The problem is that a debate far removed from the green rhetoric is acceptable in the world of motorsport, but not for mass consumption where sustainability is the main mantra right now. The European car manufacturers cannot afford to make statements like those of Toyota, which was one of the world’s first firms to introduce electric and hybrid and so has unprecedented history on this market. An experience that clearly suggests that consumers prefer small cars that are affordable and versatile in different situations. The opposite of what is appearing on the market today, where we’re told that a 2–3-ton SUV is sustainable just because it’s powered by batteries that, in a few years, will be dead and need to be disposed of. Not to mention the carbon footprint of the entire production cycle. If we want to do something about emissions, the first regulation should have to do with the volume and weight of vehicles, which are becoming ever bigger due to marketing and style trends.”
A network of services where the consumer is not front and centre
“Another issue is the used car market that, with electric and considering the deterioration in battery efficiency, cannot develop.” As Gaiani reflects, “who will buy a used car that is four or five years old, knowing that the batteries are no longer efficient? Not to mention the repairs in the case of incident. The market pushes for the purchase of services, creating conditions of impoverishment for the average consumer who, with a rented vehicle, cannot decide how long to use it, whether to use it, and how much to spend in the event of a crisis. We buy services without having anything at our disposal, but this has negative effects, in terms of both wiping out a market, and limiting our freedom as individuals to control our own resources. Moreover, this is a short-term trade policy that doesn’t resolve the slowing of sales, in fact it only aggravates the situation. In Italy, in September, sales experienced an overall decline of 4.2% with 1,118,083 vehicle registrations compared to 1,167,637 in September 2023. And electric is the worst hit, dropping by 36% in Italy and by 43.9 % in Europe.
In this context, many European manufacturers who had begun converting their plants have now reversed this decision because the demand is insufficient. We’re therefore in in a situation where the market responds to a legislator who is not guided by technical considerations, who ignores the requirements of demand, and who will end up favouring the Chinese manufacturers, ready to swamp the market with the low-cost cars, both electric and endothermic, that the market demands but that have vanished from the catalogues. We’re facing extraordinary political and economic short-sightedness where there’ll be no need for import duty on Chinese cars, which is absurd after having constructed this self-defeating mechanism.
Certification and objective measurement systems
The issue of objective sustainability measurement is becoming central to the debate, thanks to the development of tools that can determine the carbon footprint of production right from its initial phases.
“Electric is not without its impact, just like any human activity in fact, which is why we need to be objective in our scientific evaluation of the carbon footprint”, Gaiani continues, “in this regard, it’s very useful to have instruments such as LCA that, if applied to the entire production chain, from the extraction of rare-earth elements, to transportation from the far east, to putting vehicles on the road and recharging them using the electrical network, would show similar results to combustion engines, designed to reduce CO2 emissions as far as possible, while for the particulate, as we’ve said, weight and inertia are critical”. Gaiani concludes: “Measuring the impact is key for us at V system, to the point that we’ve obtained ISO 14001 environmental certification, which allows us to trace a series of activities that help heighten the sustainability of our production. This framework includes, for example, the electric van, which has proved ideal for short-range use and the possibility to charge it, at least in part, using the solar panels we’ve installed at our factory in Fiorano. This is just one of the initiatives, but it clearly demonstrates that even for an exhaust manufacturer, sustainability policies are guided by objective evaluation and data, far from considerations of an ideological nature, though with sustainability always in mind.”
