The ban on new internal combustion vehicles in Europe from 2035 may be avoided after all as the European Commission has announced a new review into its plans to de-carbonise the car industry.
In her first speech to the group, newly re-elected EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyden said: “a technology-neutral approach is required, in which e-fuels will play a role by specifically amending the regulations as part of the planned review.”
Only a year ago the European Parliament and its member states appeared to sign the death warrant for combustion-powered cars by agreeing that vehicles would no longer be allowed to emit any carbon dioxide from 2035. However, a robust campaign from the German and Italian governments appears to have resulted in a change of heart.
German Minister President of Saxony Michale Kretschme welcomed the move. “We shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to individual mobility – politicians don’t know any better than the market and the tens of millions of drivers in the EU,” he said.
Sales of battery-electric cars in Europe, and globally, have dropped recently, with car makers from Mercedes to Porsche having to revise their EV ambitions.
“The transition to electric cars is taking longer than we thought five years ago,” said Porsche in statement to investors. “Our product strategy is set up such that we could deliver over 80 per cent of our vehicles as all electric in 2030 – dependent on customer demand and the development of electromobility.”
As Europe opens the door to carbon neutral E-fuels consumers will have even less incentive to make the switch to electric, especially those with a passion for high performance.
“We believe there is still a valid way forward for ICE cars and this is going to be supported by the development of carbon-neutral fuel,” Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna told Autocar.
