New petrol and diesel cars could still go on sale in the EU after 2035, under a proposal from rapporteur Jens Gieseke. The draft will now go before the European Parliament's transport and tourism committee (TRAN).
The plan covers cars and vans and loosens the rules now in force. It drops the requirement that only zero-emission cars — electric and hydrogen — can be sold after 2035. That marks a retreat from the policy known as "vision zero".
The current law calls for emissions from new cars to fall 55% by 2030 compared with 2021, and for vans to fall 50%. The new draft keeps the 55% target for cars but cuts the van target to 30%.
The 2030 limits would become 51.4g of CO2 per km for cars and 135.3g for vans. For 2035, the targets are a 90% cut for cars and an 80% cut for vans, working out to 11.4g and 38.7g per km.
The softer rules come after jobs fell in Europe's car industry, and because countries are switching to electric cars at different speeds. The aim is to give carmakers more breathing room during the switch, and to protect drivers in countries where electric cars cost more and public chargers are scarce.
Carmakers will meet the new limits mainly with efficient drivetrains: plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and electric cars that use a combustion engine as a generator (REEVs). So combustion engines won't disappear completely after 2035.
Such models already emit more than the new limits allow. The plug-in hybrid Toyota RAV4 puts out 30-36g of CO2 per km. The Volkswagen Passat in the same version emits about 28g. The Chinese SUV Leapmotor C10, which uses an engine as a generator, emits 38g.
After 2035, for every one of these hybrids sold, a carmaker will have to sell two or three fully electric cars to bring its average emissions down.
AMS and ABB surveyed nearly 500 people from the car industry across six continents. 8% say building electric cars is harder now than a year ago. But more than 50% say things have improved.
Under the directive, the rules will be reviewed in 2026.