Carmakers demand EU eases ‘rigid’ 2035 petrol car ban
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Carmakers have criticised the EU’s plans to ban the sale of combustion engine vehicles from 2035 as ‘‘very rigid”, saying Brussels has failed to take industry concerns into account.
In a paper sent to the European Commission ahead of a major revision of the policy and seen by the Financial Times, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (Acea), a car industry body, said the de facto ban was based “on outdated premises and optimistic assumptions”. It called for measures to give manufacturers greater flexibility — proposals that campaigners warn would halve electric vehicle sales in Europe.
The combustion engine ban was a flagship policy of the EU’s ambitious Green Deal climate law, which sets out a trajectory for the bloc to cut emissions to net zero by 2050.
But the ban has also become one of the bloc’s most contested laws, as European industry struggles to compete with lower-cost competition particularly from China and a high level of bureaucracy as a result of the EU’s environmental rules.
The Acea paper said the planned ban would set a “very rigid one-dimensional pathway” for carmakers to meet the zero emissions target that would force them to only sell electric vehicles. In order to meet the 2035 goal, Acea said battery EV registrations should have accounted for 25 per cent of new car sales this year, but remained at about 16 per cent during January to August.
S&P Global figures quoted in the document forecast that EVs would make up 63 per cent of new sales in 2035.
Carmakers must meet gradually lower emissions targets until 2035 by selling EVs that count as carbon emissions credits. Acea called for manufacturers to be allowed to meet the targets over a five-year period, permitting so-called carbon neutral fuels to count as having zero carbon emissions and giving carmakers additional credits for selling smaller battery EVs.
The paper also suggested easing the penalties levied on carmakers that did not meet the emissions reduction targets, giving manufacturers credits for scrapping old cars and for cutting carbon dioxide emissions during production.
But the campaign group Transport & Environment said the measures set out in the paper would mean that carmakers would only have to achieve a 52 per cent market share of EVs in 2035. Cars director Lucien Mathieu criticised the industry’s proposed measures, saying they would ‘‘completely undermine the investment certainty needed for Europe to catch up in the EV race’’.
The Acea paper cited high energy costs and a drop in demand for new cars as among the factors preventing the European car industry from being able to meet the targets.
European manufacturers have laid off tens of thousands of jobs in recent years as they struggle to compete with cheaper Chinese competition.
The calls from the European car industry come as the Trump administration also seeks to roll back rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US. But critics say the loosening of the petrol ban would send mixed signals to consumers. EV sales have risen 30 per cent so far this year in the EU compared with last year.
Critics also warn that the technology gap with BYD and other Chinese rivals in EVs would expand further if they slow down their efforts now to go electric.
The German government is due to host a car summit on Thursday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is opposed to the 2035 combustion engine ban and has said he will raise the matter with EU leaders at a meeting later this month. Merz’s SPD coalition partners are split on whether to scrap the ban.
Acea director-general Sigrid de Vries said on Wednesday that carmakers were delivering on electrification, and that its paper ‘‘presents tangible solutions to make the transition work”.
