A recent EU regulatory filing indicates that Stellantis, Toyota, and Subaru will not join Tesla's carbon credit pool for 2026, reducing its size compared to the previous year. The pool, which helps automakers meet strict CO2 targets, now includes Tesla, Ford, Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki. This shift reflects broader changes in the European auto industry's transition to electric vehicles.
The European Union requires automakers to meet fleet-wide CO2 emissions targets, with penalties of €95 per gram of CO2 exceeding the limit for each vehicle sold. To comply, companies can form emissions pools where high-emission fleets offset against low-emission ones, such as Tesla's all-electric lineup.
An EU filing dated February 27, 2026, outlines Tesla's pool for the compliance year starting in 2026. Unlike 2025, when the group included Tesla, Stellantis, Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, and Leapmotor, the new alliance excludes Stellantis, Toyota, and Subaru. Remaining members are Tesla, Ford Motor Company, Honda Motor Company, Mazda Motor Corporation, and Suzuki Motor Corporation. Automakers may still join until December 2026.
This change comes amid adjustments to EU compliance rules, now based on average emissions from 2025 to 2027, offering more flexibility. Legacy automakers like Toyota, with its large hybrid fleet, Stellantis, expanding EVs across brands including Peugeot, Opel, Fiat, and Jeep, and Subaru, developing more EV models with Toyota, may rely less on external credits. Stellantis also has a joint venture with Leapmotor for EVs in Europe.
Tesla has benefited significantly from such arrangements. In 2025, it earned nearly $2 billion from global emissions credits, contributing to a total of $12.4 billion since 2017. In Europe, these pools could generate over €1 billion annually, as buying credits is cheaper than fines for manufacturers selling millions of vehicles.
The EU's climate policies aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and phase out new gasoline and diesel car sales by 2035. Battery-electric vehicles reached 19% market share in 2025, up from 15% in 2024, supporting the transition. Despite a delivery drop to 1.6 million vehicles in 2025 from 1.81 million in 2024, Tesla remains central to the carbon credit market, though competitors like BYD have overtaken it in sales.
