Europe’s electric-vehicle transition is entering a phase in which policy design may matter as much as vehicle supply. On 16 July 2026, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and E-Mobility Europe called on the European Commission to put road transport at the centre of its upcoming Electrification Action Plan. Their request is a policy submission, not an announcement of a new consumer service or vehicle.
In its announcement, ACEA says the two organisations want the Commission to move beyond broad targets and address the practical conditions that determine whether electric cars, vans, trucks and buses can scale. The attached joint letter presents electrification as part of Europe’s energy-security strategy as well as its decarbonisation programme.
The numbers behind the request
The letter points to a sharp increase in battery-electric car registrations in the European Union during the first five months of 2026. It records 950,521 new battery-electric cars, a 35.7% year-on-year increase, and says BEVs represented more than one in five EU registrations over that period. Those figures are presented by the signatories to show that demand is moving, but they also underline the uneven pace of the transition across vehicle classes.
Heavy-duty transport remains the clearest gap in the document. ACEA and E-Mobility Europe say zero-emission vehicles represented only 2.3% of new heavy trucks registered in the EU during the first quarter of 2026, while more than half of new city buses were already zero-emission. The contrast explains why the letter does not treat passenger-car adoption as a sufficient measure of progress: charging access, grid capacity and financing must also work for commercial fleets.
Lower electricity costs are the first priority
The organisations’ first group of recommendations concerns the price of electricity. They ask the Commission and Member States to reduce electricity taxes and remove levies that are not directly related to electricity. The letter also proposes a zero VAT rate for selected electrification and flexibility technologies, including batteries, zero-emission vehicles and charging equipment, following the approach used for solar panels.
These are requests for future policy decisions, not changes already in force. Their significance is straightforward: a lower energy bill could improve the operating case for electric cars and commercial vehicles, while more predictable electricity costs would make investments in charging and fleet depots easier to assess. The submission also asks the Commission to publish the legislative proposal on network charges and taxation referenced in its wider energy policy work.
Bidirectional charging moves from promise to framework
A second priority is bidirectional charging, which allows an electric vehicle to receive electricity and, where the vehicle and system support it, return energy to a building or the grid. The letter describes EV batteries as potential mobile storage and asks for an EU-wide framework covering the technical and commercial conditions required for that role.
The recommendations include ending what the signatories describe as double taxation of smart and bidirectional charging, coordinating communication and energy-transfer standards, and creating a phased roadmap for grid-code certification. They also call for time-of-use tariffs, wider smart-meter deployment and clearer access for aggregators and energy suppliers. In practical terms, the groups are asking the Commission to address interoperability and market rules before bidirectional charging becomes a mass-market proposition.
Trucks need charging investment that can survive the ramp-up
For heavy-duty vehicles, the proposed response is more targeted. The letter calls for a de-risking mechanism for publicly accessible truck charging, arguing that early projects can be strategically important before utilisation is high enough to satisfy private investors. It also asks for a depot-charging strategy built around faster permitting, priority locations for logistics operations, pre-cabled sites and insurance rules that do not create unnecessary barriers.
This is an important distinction in the policy debate. A passenger-car charger can often be evaluated through individual demand, whereas a truck depot depends on fleet schedules, grid connections and long-term contracts. The document therefore links vehicle uptake to infrastructure finance rather than presenting the truck transition as a simple matter of adding more models to a showroom.
Grid capacity is the condition underneath every target
The final recommendations connect road transport with the wider electricity system. ACEA and E-Mobility Europe want faster grid modernisation and expansion, more anticipatory investment, clearer connection criteria and digitalised procedures. They also call for consistent implementation of permitting rules for electricity networks, charging sites and battery storage.
The joint letter further asks Member States to apply fuel-neutral credit mechanisms under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive framework to both public and private charging, including depots. It closes with a call for a stable enabling framework that implements existing energy and transport legislation quickly and gives investors more confidence.
What has actually changed?
Nothing in the announcement itself changes EU law, charging prices or vehicle availability. It records the priorities that two mobility organisations want reflected in the Commission’s forthcoming plan. The immediate news is therefore the coordinated request: cheaper electricity, workable bidirectional-charging rules, stronger grid planning and mechanisms that can unlock commercial-vehicle charging.
That distinction matters for readers tracking the electric transition. The registration figures show momentum in one part of the market, while the heavy-truck data show that the system is not moving at one speed. The next meaningful test will be whether the Electrification Action Plan converts these requests into adopted measures with clear responsibilities, funding routes and implementation dates. Until then, the ACEA document is best read as an evidence-backed industry position on the barriers that still separate EV targets from everyday deployment.