The European Commission is retreating from a complete ban on the sale of new combustion-engine cars in the EU from 2035. On Tuesday, it proposed that from 2035 car manufacturers would instead be required to meet a 90 percent reduction target for CO₂ emissions.
Under the Commission’s proposal, carmakers would have to achieve a 90 percent cut in exhaust emissions by 2035, while the remaining 10 percent would need to be offset through the use of low-carbon steel produced in the EU or through e-fuels and biofuels.
According to the Commission, this approach would allow plug-in hybrids (vehicles combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor), range-extended vehicles (electric cars equipped with an additional combustion-engine power generator), mild hybrids (combustion-engine cars supported by a small electric motor), and vehicles powered by combustion engines to continue to “play a role” on the market after 2035—alongside fully electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The Commission’s proposal will need to be approved by EU member states within the Council of the European Union and by the European Parliament.