After suggestions that Europe would delay its ban of new internal combustion engine light vehicles to 2024, it now seems the law will be thrown away entirely.
It’s been a long road to get to a point where European lawmakers are considering walking back the controversial 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel internal combustion engine-powered light vehicles, but it appears to now be at a tipping point.
A report by Reuters – citing German tabloid Bild – suggests the European Union will scrap the total ban altogether, and instead implement regulations limiting carmaker’s fleet emissions to 90 per cent, something which will continue into the foreseeable future.
“For new registrations from 2035 onwards, a 90 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions will now be mandatory for car manufacturers’ fleet targets, instead of 100 per cent,” European People’s Party (EPP) president Manfred Weber reportedly told Bild.
“There will also be no 100 per cent 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.”
Recent reports have suggested the European Union will make official changes to the 2035 ban in the coming weeks, following mounting pressure from the automotive industry, including big brands such as Volkswagen, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Stellantis.
The most recent reports contradict those made earlier this week, with The Times reporting the ICE ban would be delayed by five years from 2035 to 2040.
Last week, German business publication Handelsblatt spoke to European Union Transport Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who suggested the 2035 date could remain though with concessions to allow for engines capable of running on zero-tailpipe emissions fuel.
“We are taking all technological developments into account, including the role of zero-emission and low-emission fuels, advanced biofuels, and the importance of an economically viable and socially just transition,” Tzitzikostas told the publication.
Earlier this month, Automotive News Europe reported Friedrich Merz, the Chancellor of Germany, sent a letter to the European Commission, asking for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs, extended-range EVs (EREVs) and “highly efficient” ICE cars to be exempt from the ban.
This was done off the back of some German carmakers and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) supporting a scaling back of the ban, which will disrupt future model plans and potentially drive up costs due to the cost of EV batteries.
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