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CEO Xavier Chardon recently summed up the issue bluntly: electrification isn’t failing, but expectations were set on outdated assumptions.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