Ing. Michal Hrubý, member of the ŠAU Research Centre, a guest at the Café Europa debate

Automotive transport in Europe - How will the new EU legislation affect it? That was the topic of an online debate on Facebook Café Europe, attended by Michal Hrubý, a member of the Research Centre of the Škoda Auto University. In addition to Michal Hrubý, the discussion included Lucie Krčmářová, Director of the Department of Sectoral Expertise and Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Luděk Niedermayer, Member of the European Parliament, member of TOP 09, EPP, and Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the Automotive Industry Association.

During the debate, the guests addressed several key areas of the development of the automotive industry in the Czech Republic and the EU. One of the major points of discussion was the approved CO2 standards for passenger cars, including a gradual reduction to zero exhaust emissions for new cars sold from 2035 and the newly proposed EURO 7 emission standard. Furthermore, the panellists also discussed other issues, such as the perception of climate change among the younger generation, consumer purchasing power, the competitiveness of the European automotive industry and geopolitical tensions on the US-EU-China axis. In particular, China's role is under scrutiny by many European institutions and companies due to increasing European imports of electric vehicles and Chinese dominance in the global battery supply chain.