EU loan sought for environmental cars

The car makers’ association Acea said the figure of €40bn was ‘a good number’ because the US government had loaned $25bn to American car makers and the European car industry was twice the size.

Coming at a time when Europe’s car makers are trying to water down legislation that will encourage CO₂ reductions, it has led to some angry responses. The Swedish deputy prime minister and energy minister Maud Olofsson said demands from Saab and Volvo to get support showed the companies had ‘forgotten the development of energy-efficient cars’.