EU state aid law in the automotive and mobility sector

The automotive and mobility industries are characterised by technical innovations, which are a key success factor in international competition. However, current transformation efforts and challenges, particularly with regard to climate neutrality, the circular economy and digitalisation, are having a particularly strong impact on this sector. Public support and special financing models are increasingly being used to meet these challenges and pave the way for the various players, in particular private and public companies, local authorities and public bodies, to make their efforts towards the mobility of the future. 

Regardless of whether the support takes the form of capital grants, tax breaks, guarantees, direct subsidies or other benefits, government support models and programmes are generally subject to scrutiny under state aid and subsidy law. This often involves subsidies amounting to millions of pounds, the possible recovery of which can have a serious impact on the economy. In addition to questions of state aid law relevance and the design options for planned grant structures, questions of legally secure and practicable exemption options are therefore particularly important. In the automotive and mobility sector in particular, a wide range of different regulations may apply, such as the Union Framework for Research, Development and Innovation Aid (FuEuI Union Framework), the Guidelines on State Aid for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy Aid (KUEBLL), the Regional Aid Guidelines, the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) and the Commission's DAWI package. 

In addition, due to the financial volume of the automotive and mobility industry in M&A transactions and public procurement procedures, the provisions of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), which came into force in 2023, regulating the impact of financial contributions from non-EU countries on the internal market must be observed.

GvW has lawyers who have been advising both the public sector and recipients of grants and subsidies in all areas of state aid and subsidy law for many years and who represent clients in proceedings before national and European authorities and courts in connection with state aid and subsidies, including in a third-country context. Our state aid law team benefits from the professional interfaces with our commercial law and public law practice (particularly in the areas of automotive & mobility, M&A, public procurement law, foreign trade law and public commercial law) as well as the excellent contacts of our Brussels office with the European institutions, especially the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition. 

Our main areas of practice

---

Application and notification procedures (national authorities and European Commission) for the granting or approval of subsidies/aid in the automotive and mobility sector

---

Review of planned subsidy structures for relevance under state aid law, design options and exemptions (in particular Art. 93 TFEU, AGVO, de minimis, SGEI)

---

Preparation of funding programmes, funding guidelines and drafting of entrustment files

---

Legal advice and support in recovery proceedings

---

Competitor lawsuits and complaints against subsidies

---