The European Commission is likely to delay the release of its updated climate policy roadmap for the automotive sector, as pressure mounts to soften a planned 2035 phase-out of new combustion engine car sales, an industry source said on Wednesday.
The announcement, initially set for Dec. 10, was expected to outline measures to support the car industry, including a possible revision of the planned cut-off date.
European carmakers, backed by Germany, have stepped up lobbying efforts in Brussels for greater regulatory flexibility as they grapple with the high costs of transitioning to electric vehicles while facing intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers and the impact of tariffs on profit margins. The German industry source said the Dec. 10 timeline now appeared unlikely to hold.
Earlier this week, EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper that the presentation of the policy package could be postponed until early January.
Separately, a letter sent to Brussels by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urging that plug-in hybrids and “highly efficient” combustion engines be exempted from the 2035 cut-off was received positively, an EU official told the newspaper.
