Selling thermal engine cars will no longer be authorized in Europe from 2035. This was decided overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday by the representatives of the 27 Member States of the European Union by approving the Commission’s project. European. This decision, which is part of the green pact for Europe (“Fit for 55”) has yet to be discussed with MEPs, but it already augurs great changes for Belgium.
If the text leaves the door open to hybrids and vehicles running on certain fuels, its ambition is to have a mainly electric fleet. Owners of petrol or diesel cars will certainly be able to continue to drive their car, but only in towns and villages that still allow them. Brussels plans to ban the circulation of thermals by 2035, while Flanders intends to do so from 2029.
Decisions that do not worry the industry. “Our members have been developing electric cars for more than 10 years. There are nearly 100 different models on the market”, reassures Christophe Dubon, of Febiac, the Belgian Automobile Federation. However, the spokesperson points out that a series of obstacles are still holding users back from going electric.
“There is first of all a very significant additional cost to the purchase. A new electric costs on average 10,000 euros more than a thermal one.” A price which is justified by the battery technology, but which should be pulled down with the technological evolution expected in the coming years.
The question of autonomy still arouses mistrust in the client. “But the autonomy of an electric is more than enough for the general public who rarely do more than 70 to 80 km per day. However, on average, you have to do at least 200 to 250 km before being flat.” For daily use, there is therefore no need to worry since the vehicle can be recharged at night.
Charging stations
Which brings us to the third concern: the possibility of recharging your vehicle. “For people who have a garage, it’s not a problem. But those who don’t have one will have to rely on public infrastructure.” On this point, Flanders has gone into overdrive since it plans to install charging points every 25 km. “In Wallonia and Brussels, we are very, very far from it. Brussels is not about to develop a fast charging infrastructure“, continues Christophe Dubon.
In the capital and in the south of the country, competences related to mobility and the environment are all in the hands of ecologists, unlike in Flanders where these ministries are respectively managed by the CD&V and the N-VA. A difference in political mentality which is also felt in the approach.
At Ecolo-Groen, we advocate above all the modal shift. The desire is not to replace the entire thermal car fleet with electric ones, but to take advantage of the changeover to encourage greater use of alternative mobility. In Brussels, Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) and Environment Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) defend an almost anti-car vision. “Our goal is to reduce car use in the city. We want to offer alternatives, encourage the use of shared cars… A desire that is accompanied by massive investment in public transport”, they say at Van den Brandt. The Brussels region nevertheless supports the development of electric charging stations. It now has 350 on-street terminals (which makes 700 charging points) and about the same number off-street, ie 1,598 charging points in total. The regional strategy aims to install 11,000 publicly accessible charging stations by 2035.
As part of the recovery plan, Wallonia has undertaken to deploy a minimum of 5,400 terminals by 2026.
Energy capacity
This transformation of mobility will increase the national demand for electricity in a monumental way. “If we want to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality in 2050, we will have to go through massive electrification”, recognizes Tine Van der Straeten (Groen). According to a study by Elia, these additional energy capacity needs could nevertheless be considerably reduced thanks to scheduling and methodological optimizations. To provide the rest of the electricity needed, the Minister of Energy relies on renewable sources: wind, solar, hydrogen, offshore…
This solution does not convince her predecessor Marie-Christine Marghem (MR) who is campaigning to keep the entire Belgian nuclear fleet in operation. “If we only keep two reactors, we will have a blackout!”