The EU Competitiveness Council on March 1 invited the Commission to develop an Action Plan for Clean and Energy-efficient vehicles (including the growing role of fully electric cars and plug in hybrids) that will:

a) encourage the development of the necessary infrastructure in Europe for new mobility technologies, in particular for battery recharging;
b) stress the importance of RTD and innovation for further improving the technological performance and attractiveness of clean and energy-efficient vehicles to the consumer, such as battery improvement;
c) pay particular attention to ensuring a comprehensive single market and develop normalisation and standardisation in the field of clean and energy-efficient vehicles, in particular in the area of vehicles safety, and to promote relevant actions in response to interfaces between vehicles and network’s infrastructures;
d) promote measures to encourage the global competitiveness of the European clean and energy-efficient vehicle industry.
The EHA has stressed the importance of more coordination in the development of the infrastructure for electric vehicles including battery and as well as fuel cell electric vehicles. This topic will be discussed at the EUSEW seminar on March 23 in Brussels that the EHA is co-organising (see under EHA in Action)