Europe’s next electrification policy debate is moving from targets to the conditions needed to meet them. On 16 July 2026, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and E-Mobility Europe published a joint letter calling on the European Commission to make its upcoming Electrification Action Plan more concrete for road transport.
The intervention is an industry request, not a new EU rule. Its significance is that it links passenger cars with vans, trucks and buses, and frames electrification as both a transport and energy-security issue. The groups say the plan should address the practical barriers that can slow adoption after a vehicle has been approved for sale: the cost of electricity, the availability of charging, grid capacity, financing and the ability to use vehicles as flexible energy assets.
What the joint letter asks for
The first request is to reduce the cost of electricity used by households and businesses. The joint letter calls for electricity taxes to be reduced to minimum levels, for non-electricity levies that disproportionately burden users to be removed, and for 0% VAT on batteries, zero-emission vehicles and charging. It also asks the Commission to move forward with a proposal on network charges and taxation so electricity is taxed less than gas.
A second priority is bidirectional charging. In the groups’ formulation, an electric vehicle can act as mobile storage when its battery is allowed to exchange energy with a building or the grid. The letter calls for an end to double taxation of smart and bidirectional charging, a phased EU roadmap for communication and energy-transfer standards, and market incentives for flexibility services. It also points to smart meters, time-of-use tariffs and clearer access for aggregators and suppliers as part of the enabling framework.
That request matters because bidirectional charging is not a single switch that can be turned on across Europe. It depends on compatible hardware, communications, grid rules, electricity markets and local network connections. The letter specifically places harmonised grid-code certification at the start of its proposed roadmap, before wider interoperability across hardware, data and services. The document is therefore asking for coordination as much as for additional equipment.
Heavy vehicles are a separate test
The letter gives heavy-duty electrification its own section. ACEA and E-Mobility Europe call for a dedicated mechanism to reduce the investment risk of publicly accessible charging for trucks. Their argument is that charging sites can be strategically important and commercially viable over time, while still facing low utilisation during the market’s early ramp-up. A de-risking instrument, they say, could improve project bankability and bring in private capital.
For fleet depots, the requests are more operational: faster permitting, priority areas where logistics activity is concentrated, pre-cabled sites and insurance rules that allow vehicles to be charged at depots. The groups also ask the plan to support grid expansion, streamline connection procedures, implement the EU’s RED III credit mechanisms across public and private charging, and provide a stable framework for investors.
The emphasis on trucks and depots is notable. Passenger-car charging is visible to consumers, but commercial vehicles add large, concentrated power demand and tighter scheduling constraints. A policy package that improves public fast charging while leaving depot connections slow or uncertain would not remove the bottlenecks faced by operators moving heavier loads.
A market that is growing unevenly
ACEA’s own registration data gives the request a current market backdrop. In its 23 July H1 2026 update, the association reported 1,220,890 new battery-electric cars registered in the EU, representing 20.7% of the market, up from 15.6% a year earlier. Hybrid-electric vehicles held a larger 37.3% share, while petrol and diesel together fell to 29.7%.
Those figures show momentum, but they also explain why the letter focuses on enabling conditions. The market is not switching powertrains at one uniform speed, and the infrastructure challenge is different for a private car, a delivery van and a long-haul truck. Lower running costs, reliable charging and predictable grid access affect whether electrification can broaden beyond early adopters and well-supported fleets.
ACEA and E-Mobility Europe also present electrification as a way to reduce exposure to imported fossil fuels. In the letter, the organisations cite the EU’s energy-import dependence and argue that electricity, renewables, storage and intelligent infrastructure should be developed as a connected system. They say zero-emission vehicles are a central part of that transition and point to more than €200 billion in committed investment in Europe’s EV ecosystem. These are the signatories’ policy arguments, not an independent cost-benefit assessment.
What happens next
The immediate news is the request itself. The 16 July publication does not announce that the Commission has accepted the proposed tax changes, charging measures or financing mechanisms, and it does not set an implementation timetable. The upcoming Electrification Action Plan will determine which ideas, if any, become proposals or funding priorities.
For readers tracking electric mobility, the useful test is whether the final plan addresses the specific frictions named in the letter: the price of electricity, connections to the grid, standards for bidirectional charging, commercial-vehicle charging risk and the permitting of depots. That is the difference between a broad electrification ambition and a policy package that can be checked against real projects. Until decisions are published, the verified development is that Europe’s automotive industry and E-Mobility Europe are asking the Commission to make those conditions a central part of the plan.