The EU's Dangerous Game: A Wake-Up Call

As most of you will have seen, I ran a poll last week. Simple question: Should we remove the 2035 ICE ban to save the EU auto industry and be competitive vs the Chinese?

57% said yes, 43% said no. Very interesting result, and quite polarising, not a land slide eitherway.

But here's the thing – we're all arguing about the wrong thing!

We're Being Played

While 宝马 and Stellantis chiefs argue over the ICE ban, something far more scary is happening right under our noses. The EU is playing a dangerous game – one that's going to bite us hard if we don't wake up.

Here's the truth: European automakers are jumping through hoops, spending billions to meet insanely detailed safety regulations. Meanwhile, Chinese cars? They just need to pass a crash test. That's it. That's crazy. That's like letting one kid take a full exam while another gets a free pass for writing their name correctly.

This is Ridiculous. Here's Why.

As we all know, todays vehicles are not just metal and wheels anymore. It's cameras watching everything you do. Sensors tracking your every move. Software recording where you go, what you do, how you drive. It's a computer that happens to have wheels.

And we're letting vehicles packed with this technology roll onto our streets with barely a security check. You may as well hire a security guard without checking if they have a criminal record. It's insane.

The Numbers Don't Lie

The poll, which had nearly 100 votes from industry leaders, aren't just any professionals – these are the people who live and breathe automotive innovation. The people who understand what's really at risk. And they're terrified of what's coming.

You know what really keeps them up at night? It's not the ICE ban. It's not even Chinese competition. It's the fact that we're actively sabotaging our own industry while pretending everything's fine.

Want to See Something Really Scary?

Chinese EVs are 20% cheaper than European ones. Everyone's happy about affordable electric cars. Great! But nobody's asking the real question: How the hell are they so cheap?

I'll tell you how: They're not playing by the same rules. They don't have to meet the same safety standards. They don't have to prove their software is secure. They don't have to demonstrate their sensors work properly.

Imagine two pilots – one needs years of training, certifications, and constant testing. The other just needs to prove they can find the cockpit. That's what we're doing with cars right now.

We've Seen This Movie Before

Remember the 5G fun? We let Chinese companies build our communication infrastructure because it was cheap. Then we had to rip it all out when we realised what a massive security risk it was.

But this? This is worse. Way worse. We're not just talking about data towers. We're talking about millions of connected vehicles, rolling data centers, driving through our streets, collecting information about... everything.

Here's What Nobody Wants to Say

The EU is either incompetent or corrupt. There's no middle ground here. Either they don't understand what they're doing – which is terrifying – or they're deliberately creating a double standard – which is worse.

Every time a Chinese car enters the EU market without meeting the same standards we demand from European manufacturers, we're not just hurting our industry. We're putting our citizens at risk. We're compromising our security. We're selling out our future.

This Needs to Stop. Now.

We need three things:

1. One standard for ALL cars. No exceptions, no special treatment.

2. Real security testing. Not just crash tests. Everything needs to be verified - software, sensors, data handling. Everything.

3. Transparency. Show us where the data goes. Show us how it's protected. Show us who has access.

The Real Question

Forget about the ICE ban for a minute. Ask yourself this: Why are we letting anyone sell cars in Europe that don't meet European standards? Why are we accepting this crazy double standard?

This isn't about protectionism. This isn't about being anti-Chinese. This is about maintaining basic standards. This is about protecting our citizens. This is about common sense.

One More Thing...

We can fix this. We have the technology. We have the expertise. We have everything we need to create a fair, safe market for everyone. What we're missing is the will to do it.

The future of European automotive isn't about ICE versus electric. It's about whether we have the courage to demand excellence from everyone, not just ourselves.

It's time to stop the madness. It's time to make things equal. It's time to put safety and security first.

Because if we don't? Well, we won't just lose our automotive industry. We'll lose something far more valuable: our integrity.

Thanks to all who participated in the poll.

Kevin Bettencourt Bharath krishna Neil Perlmutter Paul Chapman Nitin Tyagi Carlo Lorenzano Ronald David Dr. Martin Lockstrom Ben Chesterton Konstantin Drozhdin Dr. Raul Meyer Murguia Manuel Burdiel Alvaro Ashwin Chacko Rajath Vaidhish Ravi David Wright Christian Krapichler David Arias Marcos Robert Bj?rkman Cesar Gil Gabriel Manole Achint Varia Christophe Cazes Keith Higham Friedrich Schweizer Yue Ma Paul Bostock Alfonso Martínez Julia Grab Serban Gheta Andy Bloomer Avi Bauer James Davis Daniel Comarella Srinivasan yegnanarayanan ajey parsam Adrian T. Victor Tizon Otero Steven Clugston Arif Amirov Sabin Nemes Sinan Kesici Andy Whyman Selin Aria TUR Jashandeep Singh Batra Philippe Smeysters Diego Martínez Pascual Robert M. H?usler Alejandro de Buen Russ Yell Bruno Coelho Milos Wieczorek Adrian Brown Gopikrishna CHANDRASEKARAN Mohammed Yehya EL BAKKALI Felix Lorsignol Pravin More Iain Cunningham James Carter David Hanngren Michel F. Juergen Scheele Eric Montague Aitor Fernández Martín Robbert Lohmann César Negrete Alex Bilney - Senior Marketer Rodrigo Felix Moreno Jorge Jimenez de la Torre Miljenko Bakovic Robert Townshend Filippo Condini David White Saket Mohan Olaf Gietelink Adrian-Gabriel Nicolae Enrico Magnarello Vishal Rawal MBA, CEng MIMechE Karl Lutzow Clive Southwell Peter Salzberger Martin Salamon Robert Slade