Europe's embattled carmakers look to overturn 2035 combustion engine ban

16/12/2025 06:30 AST

Europe's embattled carmakers are hoping for a reprieve when Brussels unveils an auto sector package on Tuesday, which could water down an effective ban on new combustion engines initially slated for 2035 as a shift towards electric engines stutters. The continent's automakers from Volkswagen to Renault had high hopes for the electric vehicle shift when they set ambitious targets at the beginning of the decade, efforts that have since collided with the reality of lower-than-expected demand and fierce competition from China.

Brussels is set to unveil measures designed to support the regional auto industry, one of the EU's most important sectors, in the face of high energy costs, tariffs on exports to the US, and Asian rivals eating into the bloc's market. Senior EU lawmaker Manfred Weber, president of the largest party in the European Parliament, the EPP, said on December 12 that the European Commission would move to scrap plans for an effective ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035.

German automakers and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association have called for a weakening of rules designed to boost battery or fuel-cell electric drive cars, while Fiat-to-Maserati owner Stellantis has warned the industry risks an "irreversible decline" without help.

The regulation that all new vehicles from 2035 should have zero emissions was adopted in March 2023 when the outlook for battery electric vehicles was brighter. The industry is now pushing for concessions. It hopes the European Commission will accept that CO2-neutral fuels, such as biofuels, could continue to power internal combustion engines, as well as plug-in hybrids or range extenders.

Automakers including Europe's biggest Volkswagen have argued that immovable targets no longer make sense, and that the market, rather than legislators, should decide when combustion engines are fully phased out. They favor instead incentives to boost demand for electric vehicles.

Demand is rising for EVs in Europe, but not at the pace carmakers had once planned for, with ACEA's data showing a market share of 16 percent for battery electric vehicles in the first 10 months of the year, up from 13 percent a year before. Charging anxiety remains an issue for consumers, with central and eastern Europe behind on infrastructure, while high electricity costs are a concern in Germany.

Why the 2035 target date?
In 2023, despite the reluctance of Germany, the commission announced a ban on sales of new vehicles powered by internal combustion engines from 2035. Hybrids that use a combination of combustion engines and battery power are also included. The ban is a key measure to help attain the EU's target of carbon neutrality by 2050.

The date is important as vehicles spend an average of 15 years on the road in the EU and thus would be expected to have largely stopped spewing planet-warming emissions by around 2050.

The 2023 announcement included a provision for a review in 2026 but, under pressure from carmakers and governments, the commission pushed forward announcing proposed adjustments to the end of 2025. The proposals will go to the European Parliament for review.

What adjustments are possible?
For those against the ban, it's no longer just a question of shifting the 2035 date, but of relaxing certain provisions. Carmakers would like to see continued sales authorized for hybrids with rechargeable batteries or those equipped with range extenders (small combustion engines which recharge the battery instead of powering the wheels).

Germany supports this option as do eastern European nations where German carmakers have set up factories. The ACEA association of European carmakers doesn't criticize the goal of electrification, but it said "the 2035 CO2 targets for cars and vans are no longer realistic".

Another possible means to add some flexibility would be boosting the use of alternative fuels such as those derived from agricultural crops and waste products. Italy supports this option.

But environmental groups are opposed to any massive turn to crop-based biofuels as it would likely boost the use of pesticides and aggravate soil depletion, and they are also skeptical about what emissions reductions can actually be achieved.

Moreover, as a majority of biofuels are imported, the EU wouldn't gain in autonomy, another objective of the shift to electric vehicles.

European carmakers - BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Stellantis and VW - are not always on the same page even if they all want the rules to be relaxed. This is principally due to their varying progress in shifting to electric models.

The industry that has grown up around the electric car sector - such as battery manufacturers, recharge stations and electricity companies - wants to keep the 2035 target with no adjustments. "Rolling back these objectives would undermine the EU's energy sovereignty, industrial leadership, and climate credibility," said the UFE, a trade group for French electricity industry firms.

Kuwait Times