Tag Archives: EU

News

Why the EU’s Emissions U-Turn Could Reshape the Road to 2035

For nearly a decade, Europe’s automotive future has seemed pre-written: the internal-combustion engine would be legislated into extinction, with 2035 marking the end of the road for new petrol and diesel cars. Now, that script may be getting a major rewrite—and the aftershocks would be felt from Stuttgart to Turin.

According to Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party—the largest bloc in the European Parliament—the EU is considering dropping the outright ban on combustion engines in favor of a less absolutist, emissions-based approach. Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Weber said that from 2035 onward, manufacturers would be required to cut fleet CO₂ emissions by 90 percent, not 100 percent.

In regulatory terms, that 10 percent gap is enormous.

“We will not have a 100 percent target from 2040 either,” Weber added, making it clear that a blanket ban on combustion engines would be taken “off the table.” If adopted, this shift would allow existing engine technologies—at least in highly optimized or electrified forms—to survive well into the next decade.

A Direct Contradiction—or Political Course Correction?

The comments clash with recent claims from Tim Tozer, former UK head of Vauxhall, who suggested the EU was instead planning to delay the ban by five years, pushing the zero-emissions deadline to 2040. Under that scenario, all new vehicles sold from January 1, 2040, would need to be fully electric.

Weber’s statement suggests something far less binary: no fixed end date for combustion engines, but emissions targets strict enough to dramatically limit what survives.

In practice, a 90 percent CO₂ reduction opens the door to advanced plug-in hybrids, ultra-efficient combustion engines, and synthetic-fuel-compatible powertrains—alongside full battery-electric vehicles. It’s not a rollback of climate ambition so much as a recognition that the market hasn’t moved at the speed policymakers once expected.

The Market Reality Check

Several automakers have quietly welcomed the idea of a more flexible framework. While electrification remains the industry’s long-term direction, the transition has proven uneven across Europe.

Citroën CEO Xavier Chardon recently summed up the issue bluntly: electrification isn’t failing, but expectations were set on outdated assumptions. Markets like Norway are nearly fully electric, but others—Croatia, Italy, Spain, Poland—are still seeing single-digit EV penetration.

That disparity makes a one-size-fits-all mandate politically and economically fraught. Manufacturers are being asked to hit aggressive electric sales targets in regions where charging infrastructure, incentives, and consumer confidence remain underdeveloped.

Not everyone is convinced. Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson has criticized the idea of slowing regulatory pressure, arguing that it undermines momentum and long-term investment certainty. For brands that have already bet heavily on full electrification, regulatory hesitation risks rewarding slower adopters.

The UK: Out of Step or Holding Firm?

The biggest question mark now hangs over the UK. The current Labour government has reinstated a 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, with a requirement that all new vehicles sold from 2035 onward be fully zero-emission. If Brussels softens its stance, London may find itself enforcing one of the toughest automotive timelines in the developed world—alone.

That’s a risky position, especially as electric vehicle sales growth begins to cool. While EV registrations are still up 26 percent year-to-date in 2025, momentum has slowed sharply, with November sales rising just 3.6 percent over last year.

Meanwhile, manufacturers are struggling to meet ZEV mandate targets: 28 percent zero-emission sales in 2025, rising to 33 percent in 2026. Miss those targets, and the fines are severe.

Incentives In, Costs Coming

Part of the slowdown may be traced to mixed policy signals. The UK’s £3,750 Electric Car Grant—now extended to March 2030—offers a clear incentive. But looming over it is the proposed eVED pay-per-mile tax, which would see EV and plug-in hybrid drivers paying more than ICE owners on top of standard road tax.

For consumers already wary of charging access, resale values, and upfront costs, the message is anything but clear.

The Bigger Picture

If the EU does formally abandon a total combustion-engine ban, it won’t mark a retreat from electrification—but it will signal a pivot toward pragmatism. The industry’s transformation is still underway, just not at the uniform pace regulators once envisioned.

Whether this flexibility accelerates innovation or simply delays the inevitable remains to be seen. What’s clear is that Europe’s road to zero emissions is no longer a straight line—and the internal-combustion engine may yet have a few more chapters left to write.

Source: Auto Express

News

The EU’s Five-Year Reprieve for Combustion Cars Comes With a Catch

Just when Europe’s auto industry thought it could finally exhale, the European Commission delivered a decision that feels less like a reprieve and more like a strategic feint.

Yes, Brussels is preparing to push back the long-planned ban on the sale of new internal-combustion vehicles by five years, moving the deadline beyond the original 2035 target. For manufacturers staring down an expensive, uneven, and politically charged transition to full electrification—while simultaneously fending off an aggressive wave of Chinese competitors—that delay is no small relief.

But read past the headline, and the message sharpens considerably.

A Delay for Buyers, Not for Fleets

According to reporting from Germany’s Handelsblatt, the Commission’s plan would still allow private buyers to purchase new gasoline and diesel cars for several more years. The business side of the market, however, tells a very different story.

Company fleets, leasing firms, government vehicles, and car-rental operators would face an accelerated electric mandate—one that could effectively sideline internal-combustion engines from the commercial market well before the private ban ever kicks in.

Under the proposal:

  • By 2027, at least 50 percent of new fleet vehicles would have to be electric.
  • By 2030, that figure would jump to nearly 90 percent.

Translated from regulatory language: rental counters and company parking garages across Europe would go overwhelmingly electric within just five years.

Why Fleets Matter More Than You Think

This isn’t a niche policy move. Fleet and rental vehicles already account for around 60 percent of all new-car sales in the EU—a staggering majority that quietly drives the entire market. In 2024 alone, roughly 10.6 million vehicles were sold across the Union, with corporate and rental registrations outpacing private purchases, as individual buyers increasingly turn to the used-car market to manage costs.

The Commission’s logic is straightforward: fleet vehicles don’t disappear when their first owner is done with them. They flow directly into the used-car ecosystem. Electrify fleets first, and the private market becomes electric by default a few years later—whether consumers are fully ready or not.

In Brussels’ view, without this lever, a delayed ban on private sales would blunt the entire emissions strategy.

Relief, Resistance, and Real-World Friction

Unsurprisingly, the backlash has been swift.

Markus Ferber, a German Member of the European Parliament, has already urged Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reject the fleet-sector ban outright, arguing that it unfairly distorts the market. Meanwhile, the CEO of rental-car giant Sixt has warned that tourists could be the unintended victims of the policy, citing inconsistent charging infrastructure across much of the EU.

That criticism cuts to the heart of the issue. Mandates are one thing; readiness is another. Forcing rapid electrification in sectors that depend on convenience, turnaround time, and cross-border travel exposes the uneven reality of Europe’s charging network—particularly outside major urban centers.

The Bigger Picture: Strategy Over Sentiment

What emerges from this plan is not indecision, but calculation.

By easing pressure on private buyers while clamping down on fleets, the Commission is attempting to accelerate electrification without triggering immediate voter backlash. It’s a policy designed to work quietly, reshaping the market through volume rather than outright prohibition.

For automakers, the message is clear: the combustion engine’s countdown hasn’t stopped—it’s simply shifted lanes. Plug-in hybrids, range-extended EVs, and vehicles running on biofuels or synthetic e-fuels may enjoy a longer runway, but the business-to-business market is about to go electric at full throttle.

The Commission was expected to formally confirm these plans earlier this month, though the announcement has reportedly been delayed amid political tension. Whether the final version survives intact—or is softened under industry pressure—remains to be seen.

One thing is certain: Europe isn’t abandoning its electric future. It’s just choosing a more surgical way to get there.

Source: Handelsblatt

News

EU’s 2035 Combustion-Car Ban Is Dead—And the Industry Just Hit the Reset Button

In a plot twist worthy of a season finale, the European Union has effectively scrapped its 2035 ban on new combustion-engine cars, upending years of policy planning, industry investment, and political messaging. The bombshell came not from a leaked memo or late-night committee vote, but from Manfred Weber—president of the EPP, the European Parliament’s largest party—who told German outlet Bild that the legislation is “off the table.”

If confirmed, the move marks a seismic shift away from the EU’s previous 100% CO₂-reduction requirement for new vehicles by 2035, which would have forced manufacturers to sell only EVs. Instead, Weber says the EU will adopt more flexible fleet emissions rules, mandating a 90% cut in CO₂ output from new cars starting in 2035. Crucially, that remaining 10% gives combustion engines—likely running on synthetic or low-carbon fuels—a lease on life.

Weber doubled down, adding that no complete phaseout will be imposed in 2040 either. “The technology ban on combustion engines is off the table,” he said, framing the move as a lifeline for European manufacturing: “This secures tens of thousands of industrial jobs,” and sends an “important signal to the entire automotive industry.”

For automakers, that signal is clarity—something in short supply lately.

Just days ago, reports suggested the EU was considering pushing the ban from 2035 to 2040, aligning policy with more cautious EV-adoption forecasts and intense lobbying from heavyweights like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, BMW, and Stellantis. Instead, the EU appears ready to tear up the 2021 rulebook entirely.

This pivot reflects a political and industrial reality: EV sales are rising, but not fast enough to meet the aggressive targets set earlier this decade. Charging infrastructure remains uneven, battery costs are stubborn, and consumer hesitation has proven more resilient than anticipated. Europe’s largest automakers—some already navigating declining EV orders—have been increasingly vocal about the need for a slower, more flexible transition.

The official announcement is expected on Tuesday, December 16, but Weber’s comments leave little doubt about where the EU is heading.

The UK Question

What happens next for the UK—once the first major economy to propose its own ICE sales ban back in 2020—remains unclear. The country’s EV adoption rate is higher than the EU average, but still trails significantly behind government targets (28% by 2025). A dramatic policy reversal in Europe will inevitably pressure Westminster to reassess its own roadmap, especially as automakers weigh where to invest in future combustion-engine production.

What This Means

If confirmed, the EU’s decision doesn’t kill the EV revolution—but it does recalibrate the speed. Internal combustion, once considered in hospice care, is now back on its feet and training for a much longer race. Expect more hybrid tech, more investment in e-fuels, and manufacturers reshuffling product plans they thought were set in stone.

In short: the next decade of the European car market just became a lot more interesting.

Source: Autocar