As climate change becomes more and more of a prevalent reality, many of the world’s governments, companies and cities on Wednesday signed the Glasgow Declaration to end fossil fuel use by 2040 – though holdouts include some of the world’s top automakers and auto markets.
Toyota and Volkswagen, the world’s two top two automakers did not sign up for the Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans shared on Wednesday, nor did top auto markets China, the U.S. or Germany, according to Automotive News.
In addition, Stellantis, Honda, Nissan, BMW and Hyundai were not included on the list of signees.
Those that did sign the pledge included General Motors (GM), Ford, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BYD and Jaguar Land Rover, among others.
Toyota Quietly Lobbying Against Electric Vehicles in Washington: Report https://t.co/5uIGPDpjqx
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 27, 2021
Volkswagen has already pledged to stop selling gas cars in Europe by 2035, alongside a goal to reach carbon neutrality across its entire fleet by 2050, despite not committing to the 2040 Glasgow goal.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess stated that the plan’s phase-out of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles was “not doable” by 2040, going on to talk about how much needs to change for that to happen.
On Wednesday, Diess told the German outlet Handelsblatt, “We need raw materials, new mines, a circular economy. Battery capacity and building renewable energy grids across Europe will be the bottleneck.”
