EU-made automotive glazing is key to strengthening the European automotive eco-system
May 12, 2026
Glass for Europe supports efforts to strengthen Europe's automotive value chain and for incentives to promote EU-made automotive glazing. This paper sets out why it matters for European industrial resilience and how current legislative initiatives can deliver it.
Despite its strategic importance to Europe's ability to build vehicles and drive innovation, the EU automotive glazing sector is facing major challenges that threaten its future. High energy, carbon, and production costs, coupled with aggressive competition from goods imported from far-east Asia, weaken the glazing sector and its contributions to a thriving automotive ecosystem in Europe.
Numerous regulatory projects offer opportunities to strengthen European manufacturing of automotive glazing by incentivising the use of EU-made automotive glazing in vehicles. These include revisions to the Regulation on CO2 emission performance standards for light-duty vehicles[ii] and the Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation[iii], as well as the work on the Industrial Accelerator Act[iv].
To pursue the objectives of the Automotive Package, reinforce industrial resilience and local employment, as well as the EU's strategic autonomy in the automotive sector and in key components such as automotive glazing, Glass for Europe advocates for the following:
Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation
Focus state support on corporate vehicles that are made in the EU and include Union origin requirements for automotive glazing within a harmonised "made in the EU" vehicle criteria.
Grant OEMs the possibility to compensate emissions from new vehicles through the use of low-carbon glass made in the EU.
Enable super credits for small zero-emission vehicles made in the EU and include Union origin requirements for automotive glazing within a harmonised "made in the EU" vehicle criteria.
Industrial Accelerator Act
Bind public procurement and public support schemes to vehicles made in the EU.
Harmonise "made in the EU" vehicle criteria and include Union origin requirements for most critical automotive glazing products.
Consider third countries as "Union origin" only if these countries impose similar carbon emission reduction obligations as those of the EU.
NACE C23 should be eligible for support within industrial manufacturing acceleration areas.
1. Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation
Glass for Europe sees the European Commission's proposal to revise the Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation as a positive step to incentivise EU-made vehicles in corporate fleets, which account for most of the EU market. Such incentives can strengthen the automotive value chain and have a positive impact on the EU automotive glazing value chain.
Support the European Commission proposal to bind state support to corporate fleets' cars and vans that are made in the EU.
Besides, Glass for Europe supports harmonising the methodology for defining "made in the EU" criteria for vehicles across all relevant legislation. Considering that automotive glazing is an irreplaceable component in vehicles but represents only a relatively low ex-works price, "made in the EU" criteria for vehicles should include Union origin requirements for the most critical glazing parts.
The Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA) should be used to define the "made in the EU" vehicle criterion, as proposed by the European Commission in Article 13 of the IAA. The criteria should include Union origin requirements for the most critical glazing parts (see section 3 of this paper).
2. Regulation on CO2 emission performance standards
Regarding the revision of the Regulation on CO2 emission performance standards for new light-duty vehicles and vehicle labelling, Glass for Europe supports the approach to achieve CO2 reductions in vehicle fleets by accounting for impacts across the whole life cycle, considering the embodied CO2 alongside the vehicle's tailpipe emissions.
Yet, a more holistic approach than the one proposed by the European Commission is needed. As advanced glazing systems have positive impacts on tailpipe emissions/energy consumption, EU-made glass can help reduce vehicles' embodied CO2.
Add automotive glazing component to Article 5b, so that the use of low-carbon glazing made in the EU can permit compensating emissions from new vehicles registered in a calendar year.
Besides, incentivising more affordable small zero-emission vehicles made in the EU is key to enabling an essential market for vehicle consumers and to contributing to the EU decarbonisation targets.
Support the European Commission's proposal, in Article 5, to enable the allocation of super credits for small zero-emission vehicles that are made in the EU.
Using the methodology of the Industrial Acceleration Act to define the Union origin of those vehicles is also supported, as it will harmonise the rules, but a better approach could be adopted to further harmonise them.
The Industrial Acceleration Act criteria should use one methodology to define vehicles made in the EU, which include small zero-emission vehicles made in the EU. The methodology should include Union origin requirements for critical glazing parts (see section 3 of this paper).
3. Industrial Accelerator Act
Glass for Europe supports the European Commission's proposal for the Industrial Accelerator Act to implement market activation measures for the automotive value chain, including well-calibrated Union origin requirements and support for strategic sectors.
Supports the European Commission's proposal to bind public procurement and public support schemes to vehicles made in the EU.
The European Commission also defines criteria to qualify vehicles as "made in the EU" in Annex III, Parts I & II: the vehicle must be assembled within the Union, the ratio between the total ex-works price of components originating in the Union and the total ex-works price of all components should be 70% or more, and some strategic equipment must originate in the Union.
This is a good approach that should be further developed for automotive glazing components, which have a relatively low ex-works price in vehicles despite their strategic importance for EU industrial competitiveness and circularity.
Alternatively, components addressed in Annex VII, Part C, of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation, which include automotive glazing, should have Union origin requirements to ensure the supply of components manufactured, treated (e.g. recycled), and reintroduced in the EU.
The same criteria should be adopted for defining small zero-emission vehicles made in the EU (Annex III, part III) to achieve a fully harmonised framework.
Harmonise all "made in the EU" rules for vehicles under one set of criteria, based on what is proposed by the European Commission in Annex III, Parts I & II.
To ensure the effectiveness of incentives for automotive glazing made in the EU, it is crucial to have well-calibrated Union origin requirements. These should account for the complexities of the value chain while ensuring that substantial processes are made in Europe to advance EU industrialisation objectives.
In addition to the criteria proposed by the European Commission, third countries should implement industrial sustainability measures comparable to those of the EU for their products to be considered of Union origin. Components manufactured by ETS-covered sectors in Annex I (1) should qualify as Union origin only if the concerned manufacturing processes are subject to similar carbon pricing obligations.
For automotive glass, this means that melting occurs in regulated environments (ETS of local equivalent). The EEA, the UK, or Türkiye[v], all of which participate in the EU automotive glazing value chains with product sustainability rules, would remain within scope. Countries with few environmental standards would be excluded, reinforcing the Industrial Accelerator Act's sustainability pillar.
Article 8 (2) should exclude products whose ETS-regulated processes occur in countries that do not participate in a carbon market with targets similar to those of the EU.
Finally, Glass for Europe is in favour of initiatives to support flat glass productionby creating better industrial conditions and incentivising EU-made products that contribute to the Union's climate objectives.
Support the European Commission's inclusion of NACE 23 in Annex I (eligible for support within industrial manufacturing acceleration areas), as this includes manufacturing, shaping, and processing of flat glass, which are strategic sectors.
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