Fiat Chrysler to pay Tesla for CO2 emissions credits

(EurActiv, 8 Apr 2019) Fiat Chrysler (FCA) confirmed Sunday (7 April) that it is to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Tesla, the zero-emissions electric carmakers, to avoid getting hit by European Commission fines.

The statement from the California-based firm confirmed a report in the Financial Times that FCA was paying Tesla, whose electric cars have no CO2 emissions.

The European Union imposes limits to the levels of carbon dioxide emissions cars can produce. But companies can pool CO2 credits between them to avoid fines from the European Commission.

FCA formed an open pool with Tesla on 25 February, the FT said, citing a declaration with the European Commission.

In a statement, Fiat Chrysler did not directly address the amount that it would pay but added it would “optimise the options for compliance that the regulations offer.”

“FCA is committed to reducing the emissions of all our products…The purchase pool provides flexibility to deliver products our customers are willing to buy while managing compliance with the lowest cost approach,” FCA added in its statement.

“The whole point of a CO2 credit market is to leverage the most cost-effective ways to reduce overall GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions in the market,” the FCA statement said.

External link

EurActiv, 8 Apr 2019: Fiat Chrysler to pay Tesla for CO2 emissions credits