The Politics of Cars: Far-Right Climate Obstruction Against Electric Vehicles in Europe

The crisis of the car industry in Europe has become strongly linked with public debates about the continent’s economic future. In party politics, 'populists' have started to campaign on the issue: In Germany, the AfD is strongly mobilizing against electric vehicles, similar to far-right parties in other countries. In Czechia, a new party called Motorists for Themselves (AUTO) even entered government in 2025. The politics of cars has thus become increasingly salient. This paper analyses how far-right parties mobilize against electric vehicles, drawing on the author’s research on AfD climate obstruction more generally and on electric vehicles more specifically. Taking a comparative perspective, this paper asks: What are the differences in far-right parties’ positions on electric mobility across countries? How does it frame the issue? What is the impact of their mobilization on mainstream parties, for example in the context of the European Union’s now slowed-down attempts to phase out the combustion engine? Methodologically, the manuscript relies on process tracing, in particular based on party manifestos, parliamentary speeches, and social media data. The paper provides broader insight into far-right climate obstruction, the importance of economic issues for far-right mobilization, and party competition over climate politics in contemporary Europe.