Pressemitteilung: Revision of CO2 rules for cars and vans: A crucial chance to create demand for low-carbon aluminium / Brussels, 18 May 2026 – Europe’s automotive and aluminium industries form the backbone of the European Union’s industrial base, sustaining more than 14.5 million jobs and anchoring critical value chains—from defence to advanced electronics. These sectors do not operate independently but are deeply interdependent: a globally competitive automotive industry depends on innovative, resilient aluminium production, just as the aluminium sector relies on a thriving automotive industry to drive demand, scale, and technological progress. The transformation of our sectors must therefore be addressed collectively, not in isolation. A coherent, forward-looking policy approach is essential to safeguard Europe’s industrial leadership, economic security, and strategic autonomy. The ongoing automotive package offers a key opportunity to drive a coordinated, forward-looking transformation across both sectors by conducting the following actions: • Expand the compensatory mechanism under the CO2 Regulation for cars and vans to include low-carbon materials, such as aluminium. The inclusion of aluminium, a key material for automotive lightweighting, will ensure a balanced, material-neutral framework that supports innovation, while ensuring regulatory coherence with other files like the IAA, ESPR, CBAM and End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation, where both steel and aluminium are addressed in tandem. Both steel and aluminium are key materials used in vehicle manufacturing and have always been treated together under EU law. Therefore, the CO2 Regulation should not be an exception. Creating demand for low-carbon aluminium and steel is essential for Europe’s strategic autonomy. As aluminium is already designated a “strategic material” under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), its exclusion from the CO2 framework would create regulatory inconsistency. • Advance the compensatory mechanism timeline for low carbon materials under the CO2 Regulation for cars and vans by introducing it immediately once the review is adopted rather than 2035, to accelerate demand for these materials and avoid unnecessary delays in decarbonisation. (....)