European automakers are urging Brussels to ease pressure on the sector as the European Commission prepares to unveil a broad automotive support package next month, raising the prospect that the European Union’s planned 2035 phaseout of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles could be softened.
The package, due on Dec. 10, is expected to include measures aimed at shoring up Europe’s car industry, which is struggling with high energy prices, trade frictions with the United States, and intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers. Carmakers say the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is progressing more slowly than anticipated when targets were set earlier in the decade.
From Volkswagen to Renault, European manufacturers had pinned growth strategies on a rapid EV ramp-up, but demand has not matched earlier forecasts. Industry group ACEA said battery EVs accounted for 16% of the European market in the first 10 months of the year, up from 13% a year earlier, but still below the pace needed to meet long-term regulatory targets.
German automakers and ACEA have publicly called for more flexibility in rules that favour battery and fuel-cell vehicles. Stellantis, the owner of brands ranging from Fiat to Maserati, has warned that without policy adjustments the industry risks an “irreversible decline.”
See also: France and Spain Reaffirm Support for EU’s 2035 Zero-Emission Car Target
The 2035 requirement that all new vehicles sold in the EU must be zero-emission was adopted in March 2023, when growth expectations for EVs were stronger. Carmakers are now pressing for concessions that would allow continued use of combustion engines powered by CO₂-neutral fuels such as biofuels, as well as the continued role of plug-in hybrids and range-extender technologies.
Volkswagen and other manufacturers have argued that rigid deadlines no longer reflect market realities and that incentives to stimulate EV demand would be more effective than strict bans. Consumer hesitation remains tied to concerns over charging infrastructure, particularly in central and eastern Europe, while high electricity prices continue to weigh on buyers in Germany.
Source: Reuters
