• extra support to develop and produce cleaner vehicles
  • a further EUR 2.8 bn expected to be approved by May

The European Investment Bank's Board of Directors today approved loans to European car and truck makers worth EUR 3 bn, most of it aimed at improving fuel efficiency and cutting CO2 emissions.

A further EUR 2.8 bn worth of EIB loans to the automotive industry are planned for submission to the Board in April and May. This would bring the EIB's total approved lending to the auto sector to EUR 6.3 bn since December, when the EIB launched a broad support package to bolster Europe's economic recovery from the current crisis. With submissions planned for the June Board meeting, this total would exceed EUR 7 bn by mid-year.

Most of this funding - estimated at EUR 4.6 bn - is provided under the EIB's European Clean Transport Facility (ECTF). This facility, part of the EIB's wider response under the European Economic Recovery Package, targets significant cuts in vehicles' CO2 emissions through research, development and innovation, as well as the production of cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars, trucks and other transport vehicles.

Companies benefiting from the loans approved today cover a number of EU countries and include BMW, Daimler, Fiat, PSA Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Volvo Cars, Scania and Volvo Trucks. Loans expected to be approved in the coming months will further broaden the range of beneficiaries and countries targeted by EIB support.[1]

"The speed of our extra support for Europe's motor industry in these difficult times, particularly in helping it to meet increasingly stringent EU pollution rules, underscores the EIB's commitment both to fighting climate change and to fostering Europe's economic recovery," EIB President Philippe Maystadt said.

"We are aiming to respond to Europe's needs as rapidly and efficiently as possible, while continuing to ensure that the projects we fund are economically and environmentally sound and in line with European Union priorities."

The broad EIB economic recovery package announced in December raises EIB lending by EUR 15 bn per year for both 2009 and 2010 compared to previous years. It is based on three main pillars: helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap firms, supporting Europe's less affluent ‘convergence' regions, and contributing to the fight against climate change (including the ECTF).  The EIB is already well on its way to achieving the objectives set by EU member states.

Note for the editor

The European Investment Bank was created by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 as the long-term lending bank of the European Union. The task of the Bank is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States. The EIB raises substantial volumes of funds on the capital markets which it lends on favourable terms to projects furthering EU policy objectives. The EIB continuously adapts its activity to developments in EU policies.

[1] The agenda for the April Board of Directors' meeting will be published on the EIB's website on Thursday, 2 April.