EU faces humiliating U-turn over new petrol car ban – and it’s bad news for Britain | World | News
The European Union (EU) will reportedly abandon plans to ban the sale of new petrol cars, in a U-turn that could affect the UK. The EU plans to achieve a 100% reduction in passenger car carbon emissions by 2035, effectively banning the sale of new diesel and gasoline vehicles by that year. However, European People’s Party (EPP) chairman Manfred Weber claimed in a statement to the German newspaper Bild that the ban on new gasoline vehicles will be lifted and the obligation will be reduced to 90%.
If approved, the U-turn could be a result of some of Europe’s biggest automakers, including Germany, strongly opposing the ban. Among those voicing their opposition are German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Mr Weber said: “For new registrations from 2035, car manufacturers’ fleet targets will now require a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions, rather than 100%. There will also be no 100% target from 2040.”
“This means that the technology ban on internal combustion engines is off the table. Therefore, all engines currently produced in Germany can continue to be produced and sold.”
As reported by TelegramThe move could impact British carmakers who find themselves producing vehicles that can only be sold in the EU. This is because the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030, and the sale of new hybrid cars will be banned from 20235.
The ban, approved by the Ministry of Transport, is part of the zero-emission vehicle mandate. It will be reviewed in 2027 and is said to provide “certainty, stability and support as the Prime Minister sets out plans to support industry in the face of global economic headwinds”.
In Europe, seven governments, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, and several automakers, including Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, have lobbied for softer regulations. They argue that nations should have the freedom to choose whether to impose bans, and that customers should have the right to choose what they want rather than achieve goals.
In the EU, Mr Weber campaigned against banning internal combustion engine vehicles. Instead, he favors a “technology-neutral” approach that would allow alternative fuels and technologies to compete with electric vehicles.
He argued that plans for all new car and light truck engines to have zero CO2 emissions by 2035 could destroy a crucial industry in Germany. This comes as manufacturers continue to recover from a stagnant economy.
Meanwhile, China has flooded the auto market with cheap electric vehicles. European manufacturers were slow to adopt them but are now stepping back.
Sigrid de Vries, director general of automotive lobby group European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), said: “Today’s CO2 regulation focuses solely on the supply of new vehicles, without making sufficient efforts to stimulate real demand through infrastructure, total cost of ownership or incentives, and without linking this to competitiveness and durability.”
