More flexible rules to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from cars may be enforced in the EU – while the UK appears to remain committed to its net zero policies.
The EU planned to reach an 100% fall in passenger vehicle carbon emissions by 2035 (Image: Getty)
The European Union (EU) is reportedly set to abandon plans to ban selling new petrol cars in a U-turn that could have an impact on Britain. The EU planned to reach an 100% fall in passenger vehicle carbon emissions by 2035, effectively banning the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by that year. However, Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party (EPP), has claimed to German newspaper Bild that a total ban on new petrol cars would be scrapped, with the requirement being lowered to a 90% reduction.
If confirmed, the U-turn may be the result of some of Europe’s biggest car producers, including Germany, strongly opposing the ban. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are among those who have reportedly voiced their opposition.
Mr Weber said: “For new registrations from 2035 onwards, a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions will now be mandatory for car manufacturers’ fleet targets, instead of 100%. There will also be no 100% target from 2040 onwards.
“This means that the technology ban on combustion engines is off the table. All engines currently manufactured in Germany can therefore continue to be produced and sold.”
As reported by the Telegraph, the move could impact British car manufacturers which could find themselves making vehicles that can only be sold in the EU. This is because sales of new petrol and diesel cars are set to be banned in Britain from 2030 and new hybrids from 20235.
The ban, confirmed by the Department for Transport, is part of the zero emission vehicle mandate. It will be reviewed in 2027 and is said to give “certainty, stability and support as the Prime Minister sets out plans to back industry in the face of global economic headwinds”.
Manfred Weber claimed the policy was set to be dropped (Image: Getty)
In Europe, seven governments, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, and several automakers, including Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have lobbied for softer regulation. They are arguing for nations to have the freedom to choose whether to impose bans as well as customers having the choice of what they want rather than having to hit targets.
In the EU, Mr Weber has campaigned against the combustion engine car ban. He instead favours a “technology-neutral” approach which would allow alternative fuels and technologies to compete with EVs.
He argued that plans for all new car and van engines to have zero CO2 emissions by 2035 could kill off a crucial industry in Germany. It comes as manufacturers continue to reel from a stalling economy.
Meanwhile, China has flooded the car market with cheap electric vehicles. European manufacturers have been slow to embrace them but are now pushing back.
Sigrid de Vries, director general at the automotive lobby group European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), said: “Today’s CO2 regulation focuses only on new vehicle supply, without doing enough to spark real demand, whether through infrastructure, total cost of ownership, or incentives, and without linking it with competitiveness and resilience.”
