RESOLUTION A3-0391/92

Resolution on electric road vehicles for use in town

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motions for resolutions by:

(a) Mr Sarlis on independently powered electric cars (B3-1098/90),

(b) Mrs Denys on electric vehicles (B3-1938/91),

-having regard to its resolutions of 11 September 1992 on transport and the environmentOJ No. C 267, 14.10. 1991, p. 103, 12 September 1991 on the urban environmentOJ No. C 267, 14.10.1991, p. 156, 12 June 1992 on congestion and urban transportOJ No. C 176, 13.7.1992, p. 240 and 18 September 1992 on the Green Paper on the impact of transport on the environment: a Community strategy for 'sustainable mobility'OJ No. C 284, 2.11.1992, p. 164,

-having regard to the Commission's Green Paper on the impact of transport on the environment: a Community strategy for 'sustainable mobility' (COM(92) 0046),

-having regard to its resolution of 13 December 1990 on the development of the common transport policy in the run-up to the completion of the internal marketOJ No. C 19, 28.1.1991, p. 241,

-having regard to the provisions on European Union agreed at Maastricht on 10 December 1991 and in particular Article 75 of the EC Treaty (Transport), Title XIII (Industry), Title XV (Research and technological development) and Title XVI (Environment),

-having regard to the Commission proposals aimed at giving the Union the means to match its ambitions (COM(92)2000-2001 - Delors II package) and its resolution of 10 June 1992 on the Commission communication 'From the Single Act to Maastricht and beyond: the means to match our ambitions'OJ NO. C 176, 13.7.1992, p. 74,

-having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1973/92 of 21 May 1992OJ No. L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 1 establishing a financial instrument for the environment (LIFE),

-having regard to the public hearing held by the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism on 4 November 1992 in BrusselsPE 203.112

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A3-0391/92),

A.recalling that it had, in its abovementioned resolution of 18 September 1992, asked for proposals to be brought forward for a strategy to promote more ecologically sound modes of transport such as the electric vehicle,

B.whereas the transport sector in general and urban transport in particular has an extremely important and varied role to play,

C.whereas, according to recent studies, the number of vehicles is increasing at a rate of 3.8% a year,

D.whereas economic and social trends have transformed town centres which now supply a significant and growing part of the tertiary sector and whereas this has laid increased emphasis on individual mobility,

E.whereas this mobility adds to an individual's drive and potential, enhances a town's vitality and underscores the fundamental freedom of being able to come and go as one pleases,

F.mindful, therefore, of the need to make this civil liberty compatible with the lowest possible level of noise and air pollution,

G.whereas to achieve efficient urban mobility it is necessary to review the whole urban transport system;

H.whereas 40% of all energy consumed in the Community's transport sector is used for urban transport and in particular for the use of light vehicles in town,

I.having regard to the position taken in the abovementioned resolution of 13 December 1990 in favour of a much more regulatory approach by government to curb the detrimental effects of transport and to ensure that the least harmful modes of transport are used to a much greater extent, the goal being that electric vehicles should account for at least 7% of the total number of vehicles in use,

J.whereas two complementary schools of thought exist on the relationship between town and car, the 'carless city' approach and the 'zero emission cars' approach,

K.whereas car journeys in town generally cover less than 10 km per day and hence the use of the internal combustion engine car in town, even with a catalytic converter, is completely inappropriate as it raises serious problems of noise and air pollution,

L.mindful of the increasingly critical and unsustainable situation in the centres of most European cities, particularly in winter, due to emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles,

M.whereas electric vehicles may provide one means of solving our cities' environmental problems and alleviating congestion in view of their zero emissions, silent running, smaller size and their range, which satisfies the needs of urban mobility, and because they can also substantially reduce our energy dependency on oil and serve to diversify primary energy sources and reduce dependency on fossil fuels,

N.whereas any increase in electricity generation which their use may entail will not in any case produce more pollution in view of the increase in energy efficiency brought about by the centralization of production, provided that clean energy is used at power stations,

O.whereas, to make the electric vehicle really competitive with the internal combustion engine vehicle for consumers, a policy of including electric road vehicles for use in town in town-centre traffic plans will be needed involving the three main players: government (central and local), manufacturers and consumers,

P.whereas the Community must play an essential role in these developments by drawing up a ten-year action programme to ensure that electric vehicles make up 7% of total car numbers by the year 2002 as hoped for in the COST 302 reportDoc. EUR 11115 EEC - Transport Research - Technical and economic conditions for the use of electric road vehicles and Doc. EUR 11919 FR -COST 302 - Prospects for electric vehicles in Europe.

Q.whereas to meet this target, further efforts will be needed on technological research, (new generations of batteries - components etc.) technical standards (CEN, CENELEC), urban infrastructures, fiscal measures, promotion measures and information,

R.whereas this strategy should mainly be pursued by government and accordingly many of the fiscal measures could be made to benefit those cities which support the idea of encouraging the introduction of the electric vehicle (cf. the association of European cities interested in the use of electric road vehicles (CITELEC)),

S.whereas before the car industry will undertake a substantial development of the electric vehicle, it will need a determination on the part of the Community to provide assistance and the certainty that a market will exist, as has been shown in California,

T.whereas the Commission ought to set up a structure in 1993 to coordinate all the measures which it is taking now and will take in the future on the subject of the electric vehicle, and whereas moreover, in collaboration with the principal European associations promoted by the Community in this field (AVERE, CITELEC), the Commission should promote a European Forum to improve harmonization of overall Community measures in this sector and to support national initiatives,

GENERAL STRATEGY

1.Calls on the Commission to present to the Council a ten-year framework programme for the gradual introduction on the market of electric vehicles for use in towns which would comprise the following points:

(a)harmonization of technical standards for electrically driven vehicles;

research and development particularly into industrial equipment and components in the field of motors, batteries and power supplies;

the gradual introduction in towns of infrastructure to deal with electric vehicles (reserved carparks and recharging facilities);

fiscal incentives - e.g. reduced VAT on zero-emission vehicles - promotion measures to be addressed to government, particularly local government, and to the consumer;

the provision of demonstrations, information and training in driving and maintaining electric vehicles for the general public.

TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS

2.Calls on the Commission to further the gradual introduction of standards for electrically driven vehicles making use of the technical standards institutes such as CEN and CENELEC;

3.Calls on the Commission to step up technological research and development on batteries, electronic components, power units, motors and charging systems for electric vehicles as well as fuel cells;

4.Maintains furthermore that account must be taken of the changes in energy consumption brought about by the introduction of electric vehicles to replace heat-engine vehicles.

5.Asks the Commission therefore to devote special attention, both in extending the Third Framework Programme and in the Fourth Framework Programme (1994-1998) for technological research and development, to the efforts necessary to develop the electric vehicle on the basis of a multi-disciplinary approach designed to achieve efficient urban mobility;

6.Points out that if electrical propulsion is limited to short distances, it will not be possible generally to replace existing, highly pollutant propulsion systems, and the Commission and the Member States must therefore be called upon to give long-term support to research and development of universally applicable, zero-emission propulsion systems;

ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL ASPECTS

7.Considers that the real leap forward necessary for the industrial production of electric vehicles at a cost which renders them competitive with conventional vehicles will have been achieved when at least some 70 000 such vehicles are being produced each year (0.5% of the present market);

8.Believes therefore that this market should initially be encouraged by central and local government by means of subsidies and tax relief for electric vehicles;

9.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make proposals for securing a sufficiently large share of the market to help industry to invest in electric vehicles;

10.Notes the existence of a problem of competitiveness between the European research and development system and the systems in the USA and Japan, in that the latter systems receive large subsidies from State-funded development programmes;

ORGANIZATION AND POLITICAL ASPECTS

11.Believes that the Commission should plan in cooperation with the public authorities the general framework for a series of organizational and political measures to facilitate the introduction of the electric vehicle; these measures might include the creation of free parking places reserved for these vehicles, authorized access to historic town centres granted only to electric vehicles, exemption from road tax, opening up bus lanes to electric vehicles and the installation of electricity distrbution networks in car parks;

12.Calls upon the Member States furthermore to encourage government departments and state controlled bodies to have a certain percentage of electric vehicles in their vehicle fleets and also recommend that deliveries of various goods in historic centres be made with vehicles which do not produce pollutant emissions;

13.Asks the Commission to take action under the LIFE programme to promote electric vehicles as a means of supporting sustainable development and improving the quality of the urban environment by applying the 'polluter pays' principle to internal combustion engine vehicles;

14.Calls on the Commission to set up a monitoring committee for the advancement of research, development, experimentation and demonstration activities in the various European countries, to ensure a permanently updated knowledge of the state of the art and thus enable the most appropriate measures to be taken at the right time;

CULTURAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

15.Calls on the Commission to prepare schemes to demonstrate the advantages and characteristics of the electric vehicle for use in towns to users and public authorities; this awareness campaign for a comparatively new mode of transport should:

-help public authorities take the measures necessary to attain their objectives on pollution, energy consumption and traffic regulation;

-prepare consumers for the new market in electric vehicles so that from a sociological point of view they think of the car as just a means of transport and not as a status symbol);

16.Wishes therefore to see further strengthening of the network of pilot cities (CITELEC) engaged in the development of electric vehicles, in which it is possible to confirm and demonstrate the feasibility of applying the various technologies;

17.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) and the Council of Europe.