News & Events

Trilligent continues its global Trilligent Tech Talks series, bringing together innovative minds to discuss trending technology topics, this time with the focus on the electrification of the automotive sector. Our fourth Brussels event, held on November 5, 2025, explored whether current EU initiatives observe a good balance between green objectives, technological sovereignty, and promoting a competitive automotive sector.

To dive even deeper in the regulatory opportunities and challenges the sector faces, we also hosted a closed-door industry roundtable on the EU Small Affordable e-Cars Initiative on the same day in Brussels, in collaboration with Trilligent Advisory Board Members and automotive industry experts Bernard Lycke and Christoph Stürmer.

Automotive electrification – where are we now?

Over the past decades, cars have become more expensive in Europe, partly driven by the mounting trend in regulatory requirements and standards. The transition to electric vehicles also means that cars are increasingly larger and heavier due to the weight of the batteries. Consumer demand in EVs is still low, and automotive players face a small European market with low margins.

Europe’s automotive industry is facing compound pressures between European competitiveness goals, green objectives and CO2 emission reduction targets, as well as fierce competition from non-EU actors, just to name a few. EU initiatives are very much needed but it is essential to ensure they are well designed and look at the whole EV ecosystem.

The European Commission is expected to put forward a Small Affordable e-Cars Initiative before the end of this year, which would introduce new vehicle categories (M0, M1E) and freeze certain type-approval requirements, as well as redesign and derogations from certain regulatory requirements, for these, without undermining safety features. In parallel, the Commission will also put forward an Automotive Omnibus, to simplify the EU regulatory framework for automotive-specific requirements.

What is a Small Affordable e-Car?

The EU Initiative seems to be inspired by the Japanese Kei car, which is an affordable and practical microcar or minivan, heavily supported by government incentives. For its European equivalent, it will be important to define what is considered a small e-car, and what type of users should EU incentives prioritize.

Looking at this question from the perspective of size and weight, micro city-cars (roughly corresponding to M0) might be a good fit. However, primary consumers of these cars are affluent urban households who wish to have a second car for urban mobility, as well as young graduate students who use micros as their first car.

From the perspective of affordability, the EU should focus on supporting young families who are looking to buy their first universal family car, as well as small e-vans to support the uptake of EVs among small enterprises, who are particularly struggling with electrification. The Green Deal promises to leave no one behind, so addressing affordability in this context is crucial.

How can the EU help boost affordability?

Current EU initiatives in the automotive sector have good potential, including with boosting the affordability of small EVs, as well as cutting regulatory red-tape through the Automotive Omnibus. However, the EU seems to be focused on minimizing future increases in regulatory and compliance burdens rather than rolling back current costs. As such, achieving a price tag of €15,000 for small EVs made in Europe remains challenging.

The EU is balancing a set of investment and state aid mechanisms, including a potential Important Projects of Common European Interest – IPCEI for clean connected and autonomous vehicles (in addition to the one on microchips and batteries), as well as national state aid frameworks designed to support technological innovation.

Scale is necessary for success, and for that, automotive players need increased demand. The EU and its Member States can do a lot to help boost the uptake of small EVs, such as financial incentives for social leasing of zero-emission vehicles, national rollouts of tax incentive promotion and their harmonisation across Europe, just to name a few.

While the EU is on the right path, we need for more scale, incentives to drive demand, flexible state aid rules, better regulatory predictability, as well as more EU support targeting OPEX. Different automotive players – legacy OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and new entrants – will also have different asks.

The elephant in the room – local content requirements

The EU is balancing multiple objectives at the same time, including technological competitiveness, reindustrialisation and increasing European production, as well as reducing supply chain dependencies with third countries.

The deeply globally intertwined automotive supply chains make local content requirements a particularly contentious topic for the sector. For small affordable EVs, this could significantly spike prices. Applying these requirements at the fleet level rather than the level of car category can already offer some relief.

Strict local content requirements can have unintended effects particularly when it comes to batteries and raw materials, where Europe is lagging behind, and this can significantly drive prices up. These are also two examples of technological deficit that Europe needs to address.

The automotive industry would welcome more carrots than sticks, so instead of requirements, incentives for more local content could also offer some flexibility. The EU should also ensure not to exclude non-European players from the market.

Supporting the wider ecosystem for long-term affordability

With more small-EVs on roads, it is important to scale the wider ecosystem too. To drive consumer uptake, Europe needs a stronger charging infrastructure, initiatives targeting energy grid and helping and more affordable energy prices, as these can easily undermine affordability long-term.

Europe’s automotive infrastructure, including roads, roadside barriers, and parking lots were not designed for the weight of some of today’s large EVs. In this context, larger cars are not always safer. Smaller and lighter EVs can also help reduce pressure on public infrastructure.

Another key part of the puzzle is reparability by design, as it can help significantly reduce costs for users beyond the point of sale, and it improves prospects for resale. Incentives to support the repairers and used cars market of EVs is equally important for European consumers from a long-term perspective.

EU incentives will be only efficient at driving scale when they consider the whole ecosystem.

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At Trilligent, we closely follow the evolving landscape of tech, sustainability and mobility regulation, including the Small Affordable e-Car Initiative and the Automotive Omnibus. Our global team is well-positioned to help clients navigate these complex frameworks and ensure their voice is heard by policymakers and influential stakeholders in the discussions shaping the future of the sector. Reach out if you’d like to explore how these regulations impact your business or stay ahead of the curve.

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Our expert speakers at our panel discussion:

• Martin Šoltés, Founder, EVUM Motors
• Christoph Hinrichsen, Vice President for Public Affairs, Enlarged Europe at Stellantis
• Bernard Lycke, Expert in Sustainable Mobility, Trilligent Advisory Board Member
• Christoph Stürmer, Expert in e-Mobility, FISITA Ambassador, Trilligent Advisory Board Member
• Moderated by Timea Strihova, Senior Director, Head of Trilligent Brussels & UK

And distinguished roundtable participants:

• Renata Surowiec, Director Government Relations, Ford
• Alexis Chalopin, VP European Affairs and Head of the Brussels office, Renault
• Victor Demiaux, Senior Director, Renault
• Martin Soltes, Founder, EVUM Motors
• Daniel Kaminski, Deputy Head EU Representation Office, Volkswagen
• James Magness, Product Recycling Regulatory Compliance Coordinator, Volkswagen
• Bernard Lycke, Expert in Sustainable Mobility, Trilligent Advisory Board Member
• Christoph Stürmer, Expert in e-Mobility, FISITA Ambassador, Trilligent Advisory Board Member
• Lusine Petrosyan, Associate Director, Trilligent Brussels
• Moderated by Timea Strihova, Senior Director, Head of Trilligent Brussels