Car industry warns EU leaders against reversing 2035 combustion engine ban

“The 2035 zero emission cars goal is Europe’s most straight-forward EV industrial strategy bringing vital investment to European companies,” the Platform for Electromobility, which counts members such as Renault Group, Uber, Volvo, Ford and Tesla, wrote in a joint statement published on Monday (24 June).

Under EU law, new cars sold after 2035 are not allowed to emit CO2 emissions, which de facto bans the sale of new cars with an internal combustion engine, such as diesel or petrol cars.

The coalition said it was “very concerned by recent statements calling on the incoming European Commission to reverse the already agreed on CO2 standards for cars and vans,” referring to the lawmakers within the centre-right EPP, who have declared their ambition to revoke the ban, and to instead allow for more ‘technological openness’.

As the EPP came first in the election, and its lead candidate, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to be reappointed by EU leaders for a second term as president of the European Commission, a revision of the 2035 target looks increasingly likely.

A draft version of the ‘strategic agenda’ for the next European Commission, dated 25 June, to be adopted by EU leaders and seen by Euractiv, does not include the aim to reverse the ban on internal combustion engines.

Instead, it commits to “provide a stable and predictable framework and create a more supportive environment for scaling up Europe’s manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies and products.”

EPP to discuss cars next week

The EPP’s former chief negotiator on CO2 standards for cars, Jens Gieseke, told Euractiv that the newly formed EPP group in the European Parliament will decide on how to deliver on its promise during its ‘study days’ in Portugal next week (2-5 July).

“Withdrawing the ban on combustion engines was one of our core demands in the election campaign,” he said, adding that there were multiple options on the table how to change the law, including by accounting for alternative fuels or reducing the average emissions reduction target for carmakers to 90%, instead of the current 100%.

However, the platform for electromobility warns that “attracting investment to create the net-zero industrial ecosystem for zero-emission mobility is not possible without a consistent, clear regulatory framework”.

“To ‘hit reverse’ now would also significantly penalise all industrial actors, including many of our members, who have already invested in this transition (automotive, batteries, infrastructure, etc.),” it adds.

However, European carmakers do not all share this view. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse called the ban “naïve” in an interview earlier this year, adding that “an adjustment is unavoidable.”