“The ground is running away from under our feet.” Maximum pressure on Brussels ahead of big auto industry announcement

Will the EU relax the ban on selling new cars with petrol or diesel engines from 2035? The pressure on Brussels to modify this major environmental measure is increasing, in the context of the acute crisis facing the automotive industry in Europe, writes France Presse.

The European Commission is due to review that target on December 10 as part of a sweeping plan to favor the car industry, but could delay the announcement to try to reconcile the many demands of different member states, which often reflect what their carmakers are asking for.

The goal of switching to new fully electric cars from 2035 was set in 2023. This was one of the flagship measures of the European Green Deal and a crucial step in the difficult achievement of climate neutrality by 2050.

“The ground is slipping away from under our feet,” say the French

But two years later, calls are multiplying, in the name of “pragmatism”, to revise this symbol of the European Green Deal.

“Our sector received the strictest target because at the time it was considered one of the easiest to decarbonize. But in reality it is much more complicated because the ecosystem and consumer demand could not keep up” with the pace imposed by Brussels, argued the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA).

Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers are massing in the European market, with their electric vehicles much more affordable than “Made in Europe” models.

As a result, European builders fear an unprecedented crisis if Brussels' targets are not corrected, with mass layoffs and factory closures.

“The ground is slipping away from under our feet,” Luc Chatel, president of the Automotive Platform, which brings together French manufacturers and suppliers, said in early November, accusing the impasse caused by “a political and dogmatic choice, not a technological one.”

The major economic powers in Europe support different proposals

In recent weeks, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has become the spokesman for the builders, particularly powerful in Germany, who have been asking Brussels for months to review this obligation.

In a letter to the Commission, the head of the German government requested the maintenance after 2035 of sales of new cars with plug-in hybrid propulsion, but also of vehicles equipped with autonomy extenders or “very high efficiency” thermal engines.

Italy, on the other hand, supports the authorization after 2035 of new vehicles running on biofuels (or agrofuels), produced from biomass.

France, on the contrary, requests to deviate as little as possible from the trajectory towards fully electric vehicles, in order not to compromise the enormous investments already made by the manufacturers.

“If we abandon the 2035 target tomorrow, you can forget about European electric battery factories,” President Emmanuel Macron said at the end of a European summit in October.

France, moreover, asks the EU to support the production of electric batteries, which is developing in the north of the country, and proposes greening obligations (that is, an imposed electrification) of professional fleets with European vehicles (so as not to favor Chinese manufacturers).

But the Germans are not in favor of greening the fleets. “Electrifying 100% of company fleets means reintroducing the ban on combustion engine vehicles,” BMW boss Oliver Zipse said this week during a visit to Brussels.

“There is nothing ecological in an industrial wasteland”

Six European Union countries asked the European Commission on Friday to ease a ban on the sale of internal combustion engine cars set for 2035, their message coming ahead of the launch of the new European car program next week, according to Reuters.

They asked the European 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” after 2035, according to a joint letter seen by Reuters on Friday.

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

They also called for the inclusion of low-carbon and renewable fuels in the plan to reduce carbon emissions from transport.

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

Since adopting a regulation in March 2023 that all new vehicles manufactured from 2035 must have zero emissions, EU countries have begun to have doubts. At the time, the outlook for battery electric vehicles was positive, but automakers' efforts later hit the reality of lower-than-expected demand and stiff competition from China.

“We can and must pursue our climate objective effectively without destroying our competitiveness because there is nothing green about an industrial wasteland,” the Prime Ministers said in their letter.

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