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On 16 December, the European Commission adopted and presented its Automotive Package to the European Parliament. The package aims to support the competitiveness and decarbonisation of Europe’s automotive and transport sectors, including through initiatives on clean mobility, industrial resilience and the greening of corporate fleets.

On the same day as the Commission’s presentation in Strasbourg, IRU, CLECAT and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC), brought policymakers and industry stakeholders together for a dedicated debate on one of the Clean Corporate Fleets, the most sensitive part of the package. The event gathered Members of the European Parliament, road transport operators, freight forwarders and shippers to confront policy ambitions with operational reality.

CLECAT set out its initial assessment of the Automotive Package in a pressrelease issued on 17 December, welcoming in particular the Commission’s decision not to introduce mandatory purchase quotas for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. The Commission’s own analysis confirms that such obligations would be premature, given persistent gaps in charging infrastructure, grid capacity constraints and the risk of disproportionate administrative burdens in complex logistics chains characterised by subcontracting.

The Strasbourg discussion echoed these conclusions. Company representatives shared concrete, first-hand experience from their electrification journeys. While investment in zero-emission technologies is already underway across the sector, speakers consistently underlined that progress depends on enabling conditions rather than mandates. Infrastructure availability, predictable grid connection timelines, affordable energy and coherent incentive frameworks were identified as decisive factors for real-world decarbonisation.

The event was co-hosted by Transport Committee coordinators and vice-coordinators from across the political spectrum,  Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Renew Europe), Kosma Złotowski (ECR), Merja Kyllönen (The Left) and Dariusz Joński (EPP) and attended by several other Members of the European Parliament, reflecting the strong political attention for the issues.

CLECAT will continue to engage closely with EU institutions and partners as discussions on the Automotive Package progress, advocating for a technology-neutral, flexible and economically sustainable transition that delivers emissions reductions while safeguarding the competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s logistics sector.