The announcement on the change to the 2035 rules comes as part of the European Commission’s freshly announced ‘Automotive Package’, which looks to secure the future of the European automotive industry whilst still ensuring that a heavy reduction in vehicle emissions is achieved over the next decade.
The confirmation of this extension will be unwelcome news to those manufacturers who have already made significant investments to work towards a 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, but will of course be welcome news to those OEMs who were already playing catchup in the EV transition. For all parties, however, the new date brings some added certainty to the automotive sector after rumours of this 2035 target being pushed back had already been swilling for months.
Whilst emissions targets have been pushed back with these changes, the Automotive Package does still include specific support for EVs. This includes a €1.8 billion ‘Battery Booster’ programme, which will help accelerate the development of an EU-based battery value chain. The EU will also introduce a new vehicle category for ultra-compact EVs under 4.2 metres in length. In a similar guise to Japan’s Kei car category, this will allow member states to easily create specific incentives for these types of vehicles, helping to create demand for small EVs produced within the EU.
Existing outside the European Union, the United Kingdom (the largest BEV market in Europe by volume) has set its own legislation on outlawing the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. This is currently set for 2030, where the sale of new petrol or diesel-only passenger cars will be banned, with an allowance for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) until 2035. With the EU’s new changes theoretically allowing drivetrains such as PHEVs to continue well beyond 2035, it remains to see whether the UK will stick with its current deadlines or bring them more in line with the EU.
“Innovation. Clean mobility. Competitiveness. This year, these were top priorities in our intense dialogues with automotive sector, civil society organisations and stakeholders. And today, we are addressing them all together. As technology rapidly transforms mobility and geopolitics reshapes global competition, Europe remains at the forefront of the global clean transition.”
“This adjustment does not change the fact that the transition to EVs is happening. The sale of almost all petrol and diesel cars will cease across the EU by 2035 if not before. Any thought of reopening discussion about the UK’s own ZEV mandate, which already contains flexibilities to support car manufacturers, would be a major over reaction putting billions of investment in charging at risk and undermining driver confidence.
EV sales have been consistently strong in the UK, supported by the mandate and an EV charging industry that is investing billions of pounds in private capital to roll out critical infrastructure ahead of forecasted demand. The UK’s focus should now be on building on this progress and supporting even more drivers to switch. We should not be looking over our shoulder at the rest of Europe but ahead, towards a future where the UK is a clean transport leader.”
“While China accelerates, Europe is hesitating, and hesitation is not a strategy. Changing the rules midway through the game undermines business confidence after companies have already committed capital and built factories around a 100% trajectory. But once the dust settles, we’re confident the core of the 2035 framework will still matter more for the market than today’s exemptions. By 2035, demand for electric vehicles will be shaped by their superior cost, efficiency, and technology maturity. Europe’s long-term competitiveness will be most certain when its policies reinforce that trajectory.”
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