Position: The Perspective of the Steel Industry in Germany on the Automotive Package

19 February 2026 | The Automotive Package marks an important milestone in aligning climate, industrial, and competitiveness objectives within the European automotive ecosystem. The Package pragmatically changes course in CO₂ compliance by introducing a credit mechanism for low-emission steel made in the EU. In addition, the Corporate Fleet Regulation can stabilise demand for key materials and components produced in the EU if local content requirements are designed well.

For the first time, the Automotive Package considers the strategic role and decarbonisation potential of upstream steel emissions for automotives enabling compliance with its CO₂-targets. The explicit recognition of low‑emission steel made in the EU offers a flexibility mechanism reaching CO₂ emissions standards more pragmatically. When properly implemented, it can strengthen the European automotive and steel producers, accelerate emissions reductions across the entire value chain, and safeguard industrial value creation in Europe. In 2023, 10.6 Mio. new passenger cars were registered in the EU which account for up to 13.7 Mio. t of steel and around 10.3 Mio. t primary steel annually. At the same time, DRI-EAF primary production capacity is projected to reach between 10 and 15 Mio. t by 2030 in a realistic scenario and could potentially increase depending on market conditions.

If the EU is serious about its ambitions and successfully establishes the necessary framework, the availability of DRI-EAF capacities will match demand. Furthermore, including secondary steel production for automotive components increases this potential volume even significantly. The German steel industry encourages policymakers to consider the following action:

CO₂ standards for cars and vans:

• Enable the recognition of low‑emission steel in the CO₂ standards for cars and vans at the latest in 2030, reflecting the OEM’s need for further flexibility at earlier stage.
• Preserve the quantitative relevance of steel‑specific credits of 7% ensuring that they are not reduced, diluted, or compensated through other materials or mechanisms.
• Using unbureaucratic methods for credit calculation, building on long-term technical cooperation between both sectors and existing, industry‑supported labelling and certification systems e.g. Catena-X, LESS.
• Allow flexibility in the use and transferability of credits for automotive companies, including pooling arrangements, while maintaining environmental integrity.

Clean Corporate Vehicles:

• For the eligibility for public support, consider steel – melted and poured in the EU – as key material for defining local content, alongside steel-intensive components.
• Extend the definition of zero- and low-emission vehicles to embedded steel emissions and incentive the uptake of low-emission steel made in EU. This creates a demand
• signal driven by large corporate companies based on national financial support.

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• The Perspective of the Steel Industry in Germany on the Automotive Package