The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) shares its initial views and broad assessment on the IAA as a whole. This text does not include all detailed industry positions or proposals on each relevant IAA provision. Further details will be shared in an ACEA position paper at a later stage.
ACEA shares the goal of strengthening the EU industrial base and reducing dependencies on third countries for strategic technologies. We also recognise the urgent need to build an integrated European battery value-chain as a foundation for technological sovereignty, and manufacturers are already making significant investments in battery production in Europe.
The IAA can only achieve its objectives if paired with a strong industrial strategy that boosts Europe’s competitiveness. This is particularly important for batteries, as the proposal relies on optimistic assumptions about the future domestic supply of battery components. Without cheaper energy, faster permitting, and investment support, EU-based battery production will not scale quickly enough to meet the ambitious local content assumptions embedded in the proposal.
The IAA can become a powerful competitiveness tool. However, to succeed, it must be rooted in the value-chain realities and offer a more practical and flexible approach to calculate European content. We call on the co-legislators to rework the current proposal, taking into account the following considerations:
- Critical definitions: Several critical definitions are still absent, including the methodology for defining low-carbon steel and aluminium, as well as the legal interpretation of whether vehicle assembly within the Union means EU27 in all cases. Without these clarifications, neither co-legislators nor industry can assess the feasibility of complying with proposed thresholds. These are not minor technical details but core elements of the proposal. They should be discussed and agreed on before the IAA is adopted.
- Geographical scope: ACEA members hold different views on the geographical scope of the IAA.
- Incentives: The implementation of the IAA will increase vehicle manufacturing costs and thus lead to higher prices. Therefore, it should provide sufficient incentives to offset the costs of localisation such as, for example, extending super credits to all “made in the EU” battery-electric cars and vans. Direct financial support schemes for public entities, such as municipalities, should be made available to offset the additional costs associated with procuring trucks and buses that are “made in the EU”.
- Reporting requirements: There is a danger of turning the Industrial Accelerator Act into an Industrial Administrative Act. The burden of creating new processes to report the origin of thousands of components from a myriad of suppliers around the world will be significant. Compliance must be easily auditable, and reporting must be as lean as possible. There are also many questions about the practical application of non-preferential rules of origin in the context of the IAA.
- Specific needs of heavy-duty transport: The current proposal does not sufficiently reflect the specific realities of trucks and buses and longer vehicles, including the treatment of multi-stage vehicles and dual-use vehicles and longer vehicle development times within this segment. In addition, the specific role of cybersecurity for vehicles providing public services is not adequately addressed. By the time the IAA enters into force, it may be too late for it to support the bus segment, which is already under intense pressure from non-EU competitors and may require separate short-term solutions. It is also unclear whether public budgets will be able to absorb additional costs associated with the new requirements of heavy-duty vehicles. More detailed view of the heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers is available here.
ACEA is developing more concrete proposals to strengthen the text and will present them to co-legislators in due course.
ACEA shares the goal of strengthening the EU industrial base and reducing dependencies on third countries for strategic technologies.
ACEA initial views on IAA – Heavy-Duty Vehicle Perspective
in ACEA, 08-05-2026
