German
auto lobby proposal sparks renewed debate on EU combustion engine ban
The group
wants to allow automakers to continue selling some combustion engines after
2035.
June 6, 2025
6:38 pm CET
By Jordyn
Dahl
Climate
groups, and even some automakers, denounced the German car lobby's newest
proposal aimed at weakening the EU's 2035 ban on the sale of new CO2-emitting
cars.
Friday's
proposition from the German Association for the Automotive Industry (VDA) came
just 10 days after the Council granted automakers leniency on this year's
emission targets. That was a response to pleas it would cost the sector
billions in fines.
Green groups
said that shows the danger of giving any leeway on the vehicle emission rules
adopted in 2023 following fraught negotiations.
“Give
them a finger and they’ll take the whole hand," Julia Poliscanova, senior
director for vehicles with green NGO Transport & Environment (T&E),
said in a statement.
The 2035
measure is a key part of the EU's Green Deal aimed at making the bloc climate
neutral by mid-century, but has come under growing political fire.
The VDA now
wants to shift from a full ban to a 90 percent CO2 reduction target for new
vehicles by 2035. That means 10 percent of vehicles sold could be powered by
internal combustion engines.
The proposal
caught some German lawmakers off guard.
"The
VDA's position surprised us. We will adhere to the fleet emission limits as
stipulated in the coalition agreement, and we expect the EU Commission to do
the same," said Isabel Cademartori, transport policy spokesperson for the
Social Democratic Party, the junior partner in Germany's ruling coalition.
The
Christian Democrats of Chancellor Friedrich Merz have been calling for a
rethink of the 2035 rule, and are backed by conservative lawmakers in the
European Parliament as well as countries with important car industries like
Poland and the Czech Republic.
If the
European Commission bows to the VDA demand, emissions would increase by up to
31 percent from the current target, according to a T&E analysis.
Another
critical component of the VDA proposal — and also of broader efforts to
undercut the 2035 ban — are exceptions allowing e-fuels and biofuels that
replace fossil fuels in conventional cars. They argue the fuels have a smaller
climate impact than gasoline and diesel, although green groups point out they
are very expensive and only available in limited quantities.
"The
reference to e-fuels and agricultural fuels is a fake solution that will be
particularly expensive for consumers. Citizens are once again being cheated
with questionable tricks," said Michael Bloss, spokesperson for the Greens
in the European Parliament.
The VDA and
some automakers also argue that combustion engineering is the continent's
competitive edge over Chinese carmakers, which are ahead in electric vehicle
technology.
But that
contention splits the industry.
German
automaker Mercedes-Benz threw its support behind the VDA's 10-point plan,
saying "flexibility is a key aspect for the success of the
transformation."
But not all
automakers are in favor of a change. Volvo didn't support the Commission
granting automakers a reprieve on fines based on this year's emission limits.
It wants the 2035 legislation to remain the same — a position the brand
reiterated following the VDA announcement.
"Policy
makers and stakeholders should focus their energy on people (jobs and skills),
infrastructure and the value chain rather than on revising the legislation in
place," said a Volvo spokesperson.
Although the
VDA says the bloc is falling short on its EV transition goals, which is why the
bloc should be more flexible, electric car sales are actually rising fast after
a lackluster 2024.
Overall EV
sales have increased 26 percent this year in Europe, including a 43 percent
year-on-year jump in Germany.
Laura
Hülsemann and Jürgen Klöckner contributed reporting from Berlin.
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