EU green cars initiative

The European Green Cars initiative is one of the three PPPs included in the Commission’s recovery package. The envelope for this initiative is foreseen at €5 billion to boost to the automotive industry in a time of economic hardship, and support the development of new, sustainable forms of road transport. Of this financial envelope, € 4 billion will be made available through loans by the European Investment Bank (EIB), and € 1 billion through support to research, with equal contribution from the Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) and from the private sector. The scope of this initiative is broader than the two other PPP, and research is just one part of it. Several coordinated calls for research proposals should be launched in July this year. These financial support measures will be supplemented by demand-side measures, involving regulatory action by Member States and the EU, such as the reduction of car registration taxes on low CO2 cars to stimulate car purchase by citizens.