The failure of the forced transition to electric cars

Foreword

In March 2023 we wrote that imposing a technological change by law was a crazy idea. Today, March 2025, reality confirms those doubts: the European automotive sector is in crisis, the electric transition is costly and ineffective, and the big carmakers only now admit the difficulties of a plan imposed from above without considering economic and industrial sustainability.

The market crisis and the industry’s short-sightedness

The March 2025 hearing of John Elkann (chairman of Stellantis) before the Chamber confirmed the sector’s problems:

• The Italian car market is down 7% in the first two months of 2025.

• The cost of producing electric cars in Europe is 40% higher than in China, due to more expensive energy and production complexity.

• A Gigafactory consumes 10 times more energy than a traditional plant, making European production even less competitive.

• Italy has only a third of the Netherlands’ charging stations, making mass adoption of electric vehicles impractical.

Despite this evidence, for years no major automotive manager raised their voice to openly criticize the 2035 plan. On the contrary, in the full enthusiasm for electric, Volkswagen, BMW, Renault, Stellantis and others were racing to bring forward the date of the farewell to combustion engines, completely underestimating the costs and the industrial difficulties. Only a few, like Luca De Meo (Renault), had warned of the risks.

The wrong choices of European politics

The European Union imposed a dogmatic and short-sighted transition, choosing electric as the only path without leaving room for technological neutrality (hybrid, hydrogen, synthetic fuels). This led to:

• A European industry in crisis, with mass layoffs at Volkswagen, Stellantis and other companies.

• A dependence on China for batteries and raw materials, replacing the old energy dependence on the Middle East.

• An increase in costs for consumers, who reacted with little enthusiasm: electric car sales are not taking off as expected.

Italy and the industrial challenge

In this crisis scenario, the Italian industrial model based on exports is also under attack from the threat of US tariffs on steel, aluminum and perhaps even on iconic products like wine. Meanwhile, our regional production hubs (such as the Modena Motor Valley) are trying to adapt to the crisis, but with difficulty.

Conclusion

The EU’s plan for an all-electric car by 2035 is proving to be a huge mistake, the result of ideology more than industrial realism. The big carmakers supported the plan without assessing its costs and are now paying the price.
The truth is that a transition must be gradual, technologically neutral and based on market demand, not on a political imposition. The future is not only electric, and those who understood it too late risk paying a very high price.