European regulators are facing renewed pressure to rethink how future vehicle-emission rules are applied, with Stellantis chairman John Elkann calling for a more flexible compliance framework. In remarks published on Monday, Elkann said the European Commission should allow manufacturers to meet their 2030 CO₂ targets by averaging results across five years, rather than expecting them to hit rigid annual thresholds.
His intervention adds momentum to an emerging discussion around EU CO₂ rules, which currently assess compliance with the 2025 targets using a 2025–2027 average. According to Elkann, extending this multi-year structure to the 2030 cycle would help carmakers address the challenging realities, such as supply chain volatility and shifting consumer behaviour.
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Under his proposal, the change would cover both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, sectors that often move at a different pace in adopting new technologies. Elkann acknowledged that EU emissions policies remain among the world’s most demanding, but insisted that flexibility in methodology is what the market now requires.
In outlining Stellantis’ broader view, Elkann also stressed the importance of supporting a range of scrappage schemes to get rid of the car models that are old and create a lot of pollution. It will cut emissions and boost overall growth.
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Despite his call for adjustments, he reaffirmed Stellantis’ alignment with zero exhaust pipe emissions for new cars in 2035. He also noted that alternative fuels will play an important transitional role before zero-emission technologies become fully mainstream. Elkann said that a five-year averaging period would give manufacturers greater planning stability during the shift to low-carbon mobility, without undermining the EU’s overall climate objectives.
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