The EU Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation: the industrial and economic benefits of “Made-in-EU” electric company cars
New independent modelling by Fraunhofer ISI shows that implementation of the Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation could deliver up to €48bn in value creation and 344,000 jobs by 2030.
CCVR and IAA explained
The CCVR sets binding minimum targets for zero- and low-emission vehicles (ZLEVs) among large companies’ new car registrations: 69% ZLEV, of which a minimum of 45% zero-emission, EU-wide by 2030. Article 4 complements this with a targeted financial-incentive mechanism: from 1 January 2028, EU member states may only provide financial support (tax breaks, subsidies, fleet incentives) to corporate cars that are ZLEVs. In addition, that support must be limited to vehicles “made in the EU”, as defined in the related Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA). The IAA’s origin criteria cover not just final assembly but minimum EU-content shares across battery, e-powertrain and electronics components.
The Fraunhofer analysis explained
T&E commissioned Fraunhofer ISI to assess the industrial and economic impact of the CCVR and Article 4 on the EU automotive sector, measured in value creation, jobs and investment. The three parameters are defined as follows:
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Value creation is the money that stays in the EU economy because these vehicles are built here: mainly wages paid to EU workers, plus the EU share of running costs such as energy and equipment.
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Jobs are expressed as full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions, estimated from the labour costs associated with Made-in-EU production using average EU labour costs. The figures include direct positions in vehicle and component manufacturing, indirect positions in the wider supply chain, and induced positions supported by the wages that those workers spend elsewhere in the economy.
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Investments are Fraunhofer ISI’s estimate of the capital spending needed to build or expand the physical production capacity (i.e. plants, production lines, equipment) required to deliver the additional Made-in-EU output modelled in the policy scenario, compared with the baseline.
How did we model the different scenarios?
Fraunhofer modelled an ambitious and a moderate scenario compared with a baseline scenario. Made-in-EU is defined as EU27 plus EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) and the UK.
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Baseline - 47% of the corporate market is electrified by 2030: corporate cars will electrify at the same pace as required by the EU's revised car CO₂ standards.
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Moderate scenario - 52% of the corporate market is electrified by 2030: the Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation and Made-in-EU requirements take effect, and Article 4 (linking company-car incentives to zero- and low-emission vehicles) has a moderate effect.
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Strong scenario - 69% of the corporate market is electrified by 2030: Article 4 steers company-car buyers to electric much faster, pushing combustion cars out of the corporate market earlier.
Country-level value creation and jobs
The distribution of gains follows existing automotive and battery manufacturing capacity, concentrating precisely in the member states whose governments are most vocal about protecting automotive jobs. This chapter only focuses on the Member States that are most impacted by the policies. All figures in this chapter reflect the strong scenario.
Case study: Volkswagen
Volkswagen is the EU’s largest carmaker, with more than a quarter of new vehicle registrations, yet its operating result fell by more than half in 2025. Under the moderate scenario, its EU corporate BEV sales rise by about 99,000 vehicles by 2030, offsetting roughly 14% of its planned 700,000-unit production cut. Under the strong scenario, the increase would reach around 590,000 vehicles, offsetting 84% of the cut.
This would support around 14,000 direct FTE jobs, mostly in vehicle assembly, backed by about +€760 million in additional investment between 2026 and 2030. In Germany, the four plants that Volkswagen’s Future Plan 2030 says cannot be secured from 2031 (Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Neckarsulm) could account for 6,300 of those jobs. Under a strong Article 4 scenario, the gains could rise to 56,300 direct FTE jobs, including 25,400 at those four plants. These results suggest that Article 4 could meaningfully mitigate or even overcome Volkswagen’s announced restructuring plans.
Key policy recommendations
This study shows that the Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation can generate considerable economic and industrial gains for European countries and carmakers.
The European Parliament and Council should therefore:
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1
Keep Article 4 strong. Its financial-incentive mechanism is what drives almost all of the additional economic benefit.
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2
Do not delay or water down the “Made-in-EU” requirements. Weakening this part of Article 4 removes the incentive for OEMs to localise - and the modelling shows OEMs will localise only what is legally required.
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3
Support entry into force by 2028. A strong Article 4 shifts benefits forward into 2030, when job-loss fears are most acute.
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