Zürcher Nachrichten - EU set to drop 2035 combustion-engine ban to boost car industry

The ban was hailed as a major win in the fight against climate change when it was adopted in 2023, but carmakers and their backers have lobbied hard over the past year for Brussels to relax it, in the face of fierce competition from China and a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles (EVs).

The European Commission is expected to propose replacing the ban with a less ambitious 90-percent emissions-reduction target, a move critics say risks undermining the EU's green agenda and deterring investments in electrification.

But talks within the commission were going down to the wire ahead of an official announcement on Tuesday afternoon on what vehicles would be allowed to be sold after the deadline, according to EU sources.

"This is a critical milestone for the future of the sector. There is a lot at stake," Sigrid de Vries, the head of European auto lobby ACEA, told a press conference in Brussels on Monday, referring to the expected reforms.

The ban was a cornerstone of the EU's environmental Green Deal, which has come under increased pressure from businesses and right-wing politicians as Europe seeks to bolster its industry.

"There is a clear demand for more flexibility on the CO2 targets," commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho told a press conference Friday, saying Brussels was "aiming for balance".

Carmakers argue the 2035 goal to have only electric vehicles sold in Europe, and an intermediate 2030 target, are no longer realistic.

High upfront costs and the lack of adequate charging infrastructure in parts of the 27-nation bloc mean consumers have been slow to warm to EVs, producers say.

Just over 16 percent of new vehicles sold in the first nine months of 2025 run on batteries, according to ACEA.

Automakers would like to see continued sales authorised for plug-in hybrids or those equipped with range extenders -- small combustion engines that recharge the battery instead of powering the wheels.

Germany and some eastern European nations support this -- despite questions about the vehicles' green credentials, with a recent report indicating that plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars.

- 'Poisoning the debate' -

Others, like Italy, want to see the use of alternative fuels such as those derived from agricultural crops and waste products allowed.

That was a sticking point in talks on Tuesday morning, a commission source told AFP.

Environmental groups oppose a massive take-up of biofuels, saying it would likely boost the use of pesticides, soil depletion and deforestation.

Manfred Weber, the conservative head of the EU parliament's largest group, welcomed the new 90-percent emissions-reduction target, but said no engine should be banned, leaving the choice with consumers.

"Forbidding technologies" was a gift to far-right populists, he told a press conference.

The expected lowering of ambitions is set to displease the Nordic countries, Spain and to an extent France, who have long called for keeping to the planned trajectory in order not to harm firms that have invested in the transition to electric vehicles.

But William Todts, director of the clean-transport advocacy group T&E, said he hoped obtaining concessions would help the auto industry move on and stay the course towards a green transition.

"I hope that if they get a little bit of what they want, they will stop poisoning the political debate," he told AFP, arguing heated discussions had created confusion in the sector and among consumers.

The commission is also expected to unveil additional measures to support the sector, including plans for "greening" company fleets and encouraging production of small and "affordable" EVs.

France has advocated for a "European preference" compelling manufacturers that receive public subsidies to source components from within the bloc.

Road transport accounts for about 20 percent of total planet-warming emissions in Europe, and 61 percent of those come from cars' exhaust pipes, according to the EU.

X.Blaser--NZN