Six Member States Push EU to Water Down 2035 Ban on Internal Combustion Engine Cars

December 08, 2025

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by Inti Landauro and Louise Rasmussen (Reuters) Six European Union countries have on Friday (December 5, 2025) asked the European Commission to water down an effective ban on the sale of internal combustion engine cars slated for 2035 ahead of the release of a new auto package next week.

The countries have asked the EU Commission to allow the sale of hybrid cars or vehicles powered by other, existing or future, technologies "that could contribute to the goal of reducing emissions" beyond 2035, a joint letter seen by Reuters showed on Friday.

The letter was signed by the prime ministers of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia.

They also asked for low-carbon and renewable fuels to be included in the plan to reduce the carbon emissions from transportation.

The European Commission is set to present a package of measures to support European automakers, such as an easing of the effective ban on internal combustion engines from 2035. The package is due to be published on Dec. 10, but could be delayed.

Since they adopted a regulation that all new vehicles from 2035 should have zero emissions in March 2023, EU countries are now having second thoughts. Back then, the outlook for battery electric vehicles was positive, but carmakers' efforts have later collided with the reality of lower-than-expected demand and fierce competition from China.

"We can and we must pursue our climate goal in an effective way, while not killing our competitiveness in the meanwhile since there is nothing green in an industrial desert," the prime ministers said in their letter. READ MORE

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Automakers, nations ask EU to relax 2035 combustion engine ban for new cars (Car Expert)
EU Finally Backs Down From Its Unreasonable 2035 Internal Combustion Ban (Auto Blog)
Automakers See Future for Fuel-Burning Cars With EU Ban in Doubt (Bloomberg)
European Union May Not Ban Combustion Cars After All (Car and Driver)
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban (Euro News)
EU confirms auto package that could weaken 2035 ICE ban is delayed to Dec. 16 (Auto News)
Meloni, 5 leaders to EU, open up to hybrid cars, biofuels (ANSA English)
Poland's Tusk among six PMs urging EU to change car policy (Polskie Radio)
EU Mulls Five-Year Reprieve for Hybrid Cars From Combustion Ban (Bloomberg Law)
EU to scrap planned ban on combustion engines, EPP's Weber says (Reuters)
A New Milestone for EU Climate Policy: 90% Emission Reduction Target by 2040 (Biofuture Platform)
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How Germany tore down a giant pillar of EU climate policy: A last-minute deal in Berlin ensured the death of the combustion engine ban — a previously unthinkable outcome. (Politico)
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Excerpt from AFP/Yahoo! Finance: "Our sector has received the most stringent target as it was perceived to be one of the easiest to decarbonise," the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a policy paper.

"But the reality has proven much more complicated."

Meanwhile, Chinese carmakers are flooding the European market with cheaper electric models, sparking fears of an unprecedented crisis among the bloc's manufacturers, with mass layoffs and factory closures looming.

"The ground is slipping beneath our feet," the head of France's Plateforme automotive industry group Luc Chatel warned last month, saying the sector was the victim of "political and dogmatic choices, not technological ones".

- Germany, Italy push for exemptions -

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has emerged as a leading voice in support of carmakers, urging Brussels to allow sales of plug-in hybrids, range-extender vehicles and highly efficient combustion engines beyond 2035.

Italy wants new cars running on biofuels to remain legal after the deadline.

In the opposing camp, France wants to stick as closely as possible to the all-electric trajectory to safeguard massive investments already made by its carmakers.

"If we abandon the 2035 target, forget about European battery plants," President Emmanuel Macron warned after an EU summit in October.

France is calling for EU support for battery production and proposing mandatory electrification of corporate fleets using European-made vehicles to avoid favouring Chinese brands. Germany opposes such fleet rules.

BMW chief Oliver Zipse argued in Brussels this week that making corporate fleets go fully electric would amount to bringing the combustion-engine ban "through the back door". READ MORE

Excerpt from Car Expert: Environmental groups are against altering the effective EV mandate, with Lucien Mathieu, a director of the Transport & Environment advocacy group, arguing exempting biofuels would lead to an increase in CO2 emissions, reduce the availability of biofuels for ships and planes, and will likely lead to unintended consequences, such as an increase in deforestation.

...

The EC is due to release its proposed relief package on December 10, but due to the complexity of the issues at hand and the wildly differing opinions offered, it’s possible the deadline may be extended.

In addition to possible changes to the internal combustion engine ban, it’s expected the package will also address incentives for making corporate fleets greener, boosting the use of EU-made components in battery packs, and relaxing interim CO2 targets.

The Commission is also likely to introduce a new ‘E-car’ category for European-made electric city cars.

Once the Commission’s relief package is unveiled, it requires approval by the European Council and the EU Parliament, a process that will likely take months to complete. READ MORE

Excerpt from Auto Blog: A turning point of this decision arrived after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pressed European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen to ease the proposed regulation. His request, delivered by way of a formal letter, argued that the 2035 cutoff didn’t account for the possibility of viable technologies emerging that could lower emissions from combustion engines to acceptable levels, in line with the EU’s long-term goals. While no changes have been officially announced yet, it looks like the Commission is weighing options that could leave room for the sale of plug-in hybrids, range-extended EVs, and highly-efficient combustion engines beyond the 2035 deadline.

Alternative Fuels May Keep Internal Combustion Going

EU transport officials have acknowledged that developments in alternate fuel technology may also play a part in reworking the emissions strategy. Manufacturers have been working on renewable synthetic fuels and advanced biofuels that may be able to keep combustion engines alive without compromising on emission and climate commitments. Examples of these are BMW’s vegetable-oil-based HVO100 that dramatically cuts emissions in diesels, and the synthetic gasoline alternative that Porsche have been working on since 2022.

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European Commission Set To Meet

The European Commission will gather on December 10 to reevaluate its position and outline proposals aimed at stabilising the increasingly pressured auto sector. While the final announcement of their decisions may come at a later date, it looks like the 2035 ban will not go ahead as previously planned. It seems likely that the Commission will arrive at a more flexible framework designed to preserve innovation, protect manufacturing jobs, and offer a broader route towards cleaner mobility. READ MORE

Excerpt from Car and Driver: Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, was cited by the German paper Handelsblatt as saying that the EU "will take all technological advances into account when reassessing fleet emission limits, including combustion engines running on e-fuels and biofuels."

And these renewable products will apparently be key pieces of the puzzle. BMW uses a vegetable-oil-derived fuel called HVO 100 in its diesel products throughout Europe. The plant-oil-based fuel reportedly reduces tailpipe emissions by 90 percent compared with traditional diesel. For its part, Porsche has been working on producing synthetic fuel at a plant in Chile since 2022. READ MORE

Excerpt from Bloomberg Law: The European Union is weighing a five-year delay to its effective ban on the combustion engine after heavy pressure from some of the region’s biggest automotive countries.

The European Commission is due to unveil changes next week to its rules aiming to transition the automotive sector away from fossil fuels. Several governments and carmakers, from Italy to Poland, say the planned shift away from current technology is too aggressive and risks killing one of the region’s core industries.

The commission’s strategy is to allow a five-year extension of the use of the combustion engine in plug-in hybrids and range-extended vehicles. ... READ MORE

Excerpt from Reuters: Manfred Weber, president of the largest party in the European Parliament, the EPP, suggested in an earlier statement there would be an alternative proposal for a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions for automakers' fleet targets from 2035.

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Weber did not provide further details, but said late on Thursday that under the new plans a 90% reduction on CO2 emissions would be mandatory for automakers' fleet targets for new registrations from 2035 onwards.

"There will also be no 100% target from 2040 onwards," he had told mass tabloid Bild.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was also at Friday's press conference, said electric vehicles remained the main path to carbon neutrality, but there were other technologies, such as synthetic fuels.

"And that is precisely what we mean by technological openness. This now gives the industry real planning security," Merz said.

Germany has been lobbying hard to get the planned ban overturned, concerned that its automakers will come under even bigger pressure as Asian rivals increasingly muscle into Europe while U.S. import tariffs have dealt a major blow.

Last month, Merz, in a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, argued that automakers needed more flexibility after demand for electric vehicles had failed to meet industry expectations.

"Large parts of the automotive industry in Europe, including in Germany, and I am referring in particular to the supplier industry, are in an extremely difficult economic situation, which is why we must correct the framework conditions in Europe as quickly as possible so that this industry has a future in Europe." READ MORE

Excerpt from Biofuture Platform: The Council’s agreement has introduced a binding intermediate climate target for 2040 of a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, compared to 1990 levels. This new target is a crucial step towards the EU’s long-term goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The text of the agreement is available here.

Key highlights:

There is an open reference to “technological neutrality” and “sustainable bioenergy”.
The Commission shall ensure that the following elements are appropriately reflected in the forthcoming legislative proposals: the role of zero-, low-carbon, and renewable fuels in the decarbonisation of transport (including road transport beyond 2030), and concrete measures to assist heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers in meeting their targets, taking into account European content.
Thus, the agreement reached by the Council acknowledges the inclusion of low-carbon and renewable fuels (which comprises biofuels) in road transport and the relevance of heavy duty sector in achieving their objectives.

the European Commission is also expected to present soon a proposal for the revision of the CO₂ car regulation, taking into account the above considerations.

Overall, the amendment introduces several areas of flexibility and key elements for the 2040 target and the post-2030 climate framework. These will guide the Commission’s future legislative proposals, enabling member states to meet the 2040 target while supporting European industry and citizens throughout the transition.

The three main areas of flexibility are:

High-quality international carbon credits – Member states may use such credits to make an “adequate contribution” towards the 2040 target, quantified as up to 5% of 1990 EU net emissions, with a possible additional 5% after 2030.
Domestic permanent carbon removals – Recognised under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to compensate for residual, hard-to-abate emissions.
Enhanced flexibility within and across sectors and instruments – Designed to support target attainment in simple and cost-effective ways, allowing member states to address shortfalls in one sector without compromising overall progress. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico: Its killers: Germany, home of Europe’s largest car industry, and the center-right European People’s Party, the pro-business political family to which von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz belong.

It was their pressure that forced the Commission's hand, after Berlin went from potentially abstaining on a vote to undercutting the entire combustion engine ban — all within three weeks.

Under the new proposal, the ban would be replaced by a target to reduce emissions by 90 percent in all cars sold after 2035. That means a range of vehicles will be part of the mix long past 2035, including pure combustion engines and plug-in hybrids that have both a combustion engine and an electric motor — as long as they are offset with made-in-EU green steel and alternative fuels derived from non-fossil sources.

Germany and the EPP argued the outright ban constrained the ability of European automakers to compete and took the freedom of choice away from consumers.

...

After winning the majority of seats in the European Parliament in 2024, EPP chief Manfred Weber, also from Germany, said overturning the ban would be his top priority in the new era.

Weber claimed victory on Tuesday, calling the reformed legislation cutting the 2035 emissions target from 100 percent to 90 percent a “massive reduction.”

“We only can win the fight against climate change if we combine it with an economically reasonable approach. The combustion engine is allowed to be sold in the European Union after 2035,” he told a Tuesday press conference ahead of the announcement.

Cars account for 16 percent of EU emissions, making the ban an important — and certainly the most visible — pillar of the EU's climate policy of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

By the Commission’s own calculations, dropping the emissions target to 90 percent means that 25 percent of the cars sold after 2035 would emit CO2, equivalent to roughly 2.6 million vehicles.

The new targets are part of a broader automotive package put forward by the European Commission on Tuesday that included a new regulation mandating zero-emissions corporate fleet targets for each EU country, a battery booster to increase supply, and a regulatory red-tape cutting measure that introduces a new small-car initiative.

...

German Chancellor Merz, who also advocated reversing the ban in his bid for office, took a more measured tone, calling the revised ban "a clear signal" that it is the right way to "better align climate targets, market realities, companies and jobs."

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No one's happy

While the Commission calls it a balanced approach that still paves the way for electric vehicles to take over from CO2-emitting cars, political groups across the spectrum call it a disaster — albeit for different reasons.

The left says reversing the ban will deal a blow to the climate and yet fail to give Europe’s automakers a competitive boost.

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For the far right, meanwhile, the measures don't go far enough. MEP Volker Schnurrbusch, a member of Germany's opposition AfD party, said in a debate in the Parliament that the real issue is the Commission "dictating" what form of transport consumers use.

The European Conservatives and Reformists, meanwhile, called the reformed 2035 law a missed opportunity that “falls short of providing the bold actions” needed to make the sector more globally competitive.

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Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra admitted as much in his remarks before the Parliament Tuesday evening.

“Corporate fleets will steer the clean transition and will help the automakers meet their targets," he said.

The proposal must now be debated by member countries and in the European Parliament. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico: The European Commission on Tuesday reversed its flagship ban on producing new combustion engine cars by 2035, even as it vowed to meet its ambitious climate targets.

In a major win for industry, the current requirement for automakers to reduce tailpipe emissions from new vehicles by 100 percent by 2035 is now gone. The reformed legislative proposal, published Tuesday, will now call on companies to lower these emissions by 90 percent from 2021 levels.

"This will allow for plug-in hybrids, range extenders, mild hybrids, and internal combustion engine vehicles to still play a role beyond 2035, in addition to full electric and hydrogen vehicles," the Commission said in a press release unveiling its automotive package on Tuesday afternoon.

The package, which includes a new regulation on greening corporate fleets, a battery initiative and regulatory simplification measures, marks a major victory for the automotive industry and the center right, which had campaigned ahead of the 2024 European election on overturning the ban.

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For its part, the Commission staunchly maintains the ban is still in place but with added flexibilities for European automakers struggling with a U.S.-led trade war, lackluster car sales and stiff competition from Chinese incumbents with their glitzy electric vehicles.

All about averages

The Commission is also watering down its target of a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 by allowing automakers to calculate average emissions over three years (2030 to 2032).

The change mirrors an amendment signed into law earlier this year that averaged the 2025 emissions target over three years after intense lobbying from the industry and their political allies.

Both the 2025 and 2030 targets are part of the overarching 2035 law that banned new CO2-emitting vehicles, with the interim targets intended as goalposts to keep automakers on track.

The EU executive is also altering the 2030 emissions-reduction target for light-commercial vehicles, such as delivery vans, lowering it from a 50 percent reduction to 40 percent of 2021 levels.

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It is hoped the regulation will create a second-hand market for EVs to foster a "swifter transition away from older combustion engine" cars, and act as a demand mechanism to complement the 2035 law.

While the targets are binding, the Commission says it is giving discretion to the capitals on how the targets should be achieved. READ MORE

Excerpt from PBS News: The move, which needs approval from member governments and the EU parliament, follows appeals from major carmakers and governments like those of Germany and Italy that are host to major manufacturers and were concerned about the impact on an industry that remains a major employer. READ MORE

Excerpt from EU News: Cars, green light to technological neutrality, with alternative fuels—synthetic and bio—and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), mild hybrids, and range extenders. Above all, there is still room for traditional engines, those internal combustion engines powered by petrol and diesel. To move forward, the European Commission is backtracking on the automotive sustainability dossier. An announced and expected proposal, part of that car action plan developed by the EU executive to meet the automotive sector and its players.

The flexibility introduced through the omnibus package for cars includes a reshaping of the targets: no longer a 100 per cent cut in emissions by 2035, but a 90 per cent cut. This leaves a 10 per cent margin, which can also be filled with conventional engines. Moreover, the Commission’s review proposal specifies that the package “will allow internal combustion engine vehicles to continue to play a role even after 2035, as well as fully electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.”

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Green light for biofuels, offsets if “EU-made” steel is used

The general layout is confirmed, whereby from 2035, there will be no more production concentrated solely on diesel and petrol engines. Then, from that date, car manufacturers will have to meet a 90 per cent reduction target for exhaust emissions, while the remaining 10 per cent of emissions “will have to be compensated for through the use of low-carbon steel produced in the Union, or from electrical fuels and biofuels.” READ MORE