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Rumours that EU plans to back away from new petrol and diesel car sale ban: comment
By Colin Walker
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Commenting on rumours that the European Commission is backing away from plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2035 Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said:
“If these changes are confirmed, they will do nothing more than keep millions of European families stuck driving dirtier and more expensive petrol cars for longer, whilst jeopardising the progress that Europe’s car industry has made in making the switch to building EVs. [1] By encouraging manufacturers to become stuck producing obsolete petrol vehicles in a world that is rapidly electrifying, the EU is putting its car industry at considerable risk of falling behind the competition it faces from China and elsewhere – a recipe for factory closures and mass redundancies.
“Were the UK to follow suit and slow its own car industry’s EV transition, analysis suggests this could reduce the industry’s economic output by £34.1bn, and see over 400,000 jobs being lost. The good news is that the UK doesn’t need to repeat the EU’s mistakes, and could instead capitalise and develop itself as a hub for building the electric cars of the future – growing the economy and creating new jobs. [2] British EV drivers already save considerably more money in driving costs than their counterparts in Germany. [3] While the EU acts to trap its residents in petrol cars that are obsolete, dirty and expensive to run, the UK is free to ensure that more and more of its drivers can access the savings of hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds a year that come from EV ownership.”
Notes to editors:
1. European manufacturers dominate the top 10 list of car companies for the extent to which they have increased EV sales in the UK (Europe’s 2nd largest EV market) – https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2025/evs-ford-and-mini-among-manufacturers-driving-up-sales-in-2025
2. https://www.cbi.org.uk/media/qoxp3pn4/cbi-economics-eciu-ev-sector-report-2024.pdf
3. https://www.independent.co.uk/cars/electric-vehicles/ev-cheaper-uk-vs-germany-b2877158.html
For more information or for interview requests:
George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net
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