European Council Approves End of Combustion Vehicles by 2035

The end of sales of internal combustion vehicles in 2035 is part of a plan aiming for carbon neutrality in the European Union by 2050.

The European Union Council met yesterday to discuss the climate package, which includes a ban on the sale of thermal cars starting in 2035. Despite resistance from some member countries, the environment ministers of the 27 member states approved the measure.

A ban on combustion engines with a but…

As it stands, manufacturers will only be able to sell fully electric cars from 2035. However, countries like Italy and Germany have pushed Europe to consider relaxing the measure. Technologies such as plug-in hybrids and synthetic fuels could thus be tolerated, but only if their greenhouse gas emissions are zero.

“In 2026, the Commission will assess progress towards achieving the 100% emission reduction targets and the need to re-evaluate these goals considering technological developments, including rechargeable hybrid technologies and the importance of a viable and socially fair economic transition towards zero emissions,” explains the European Union Council in its press release.

Before transitioning to fully electric vehicles, Europe plans to reduce CO₂ emissions from cars by 55% by 2030, and van emissions by 50%.

A “great challenge” for the automotive industry facing China

The council was chaired by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition. She acknowledged that ending thermal vehicles represents “a great challenge for our automotive industry”.

However, she believes it is important to act quickly to counter Chinese competition. It is true that China is taking advantage of the electric market to expand into new countries. But if it manages to gradually establish itself across the Old Continent, it is also and mainly thanks to extremely competitive prices. Given the cost of labor, major European manufacturers find it difficult to match these prices. Therefore, the issue of Chinese competition cannot be reduced solely to electric vehicles.

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