Europe’s carmakers could face yearly fines of up to £9billion for violating European Commission carbon emissions targets, it has been reported.
FT Deutschland, the Financial Times’s sister paper, says a Commission document it has had access to estimates that fines could cost the industry between £2.9billion and £9billion a year.
The Commission is said to be keen to bind carmakers to tough emissions targets and hopes to force carmakers to decrease the emissions of their vehicles from the current 160 grams per kilometre to 130 g/km by 2012.
The estimation of fines facing the industry was said to be sent to Commission members by Stavros Dimas, the environment commissioner on Friday.
The Commission has so far not agreed on the amount it would demand on fines or the rules for fining companies but guidelines are expected as early as Wednesday.