The information was obtained by Bloomberg, citing its sources. Next week, the Commission is due to present new proposals for the transformation of the automotive sector towards zero emissions. The plans so far have met with criticism from governments and car manufacturers, including: from Italy and Poland, who considered them too radical. They fear that a rapid move away from combustion engines may threaten one of Europe's key industries.
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According to Bloomberg's sources, the Commission is considering extending the period of use of internal combustion engines in plug-in hybrid vehicles and longer-range cars. However, the condition is the use of advanced biofuels and e-fuels, which are made from captured CO2 and renewable energy. Additionally, the production of these vehicles would be based on ecological steel.
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New regulations, old challenges
The planned changes are still intended to enable the zero emissions target for new passenger cars to be achieved by 2035. However, details on the number of vehicles that could be brought to market and the technical aspects related to e-fuels and biofuels are still under discussion. The European Commission, in line with its policy, does not comment on draft regulations.
These changes may take into account the demands of countries that have called for alternative technologies to be included alongside electric vehicles. However, environmental groups have raised concerns that this approach could undermine Europe's climate ambitions. There is also a risk that European car manufacturers will fall behind China, which dominates the zero-emission car market.
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Doubts about e-fuels and hybrids
Although e-fuels may theoretically be climate neutral, their production is at an early stage of development and involves high costs. As part of the new package, the Commission also plans to postpone the tightening of methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from plug-in hybrid cars. The indicator currently used is based on laboratory data, which does not reflect the actual level of emissions.
The proposals are also expected to include increasing the share of electric vehicles in company fleets and changes in regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions from heavy goods vehicles. However, the details of the package may change as discussions in the European Commission are still ongoing.
