Automotive News Europe — 2025-11-26
Automotive Industry
Europe’s embattled automakers are hoping for a reprieve when Brussels unveils an auto sector package next month that could water down an effective ban on new combustion engines initially slated for 2035, as a shift toward electrification stutters.
The continent’s automakers had high hopes for the electric vehicle shift when they set ambitious targets at the beginning of the decade, efforts that have since collided with the reality of lower-than-expected demand and fierce competition from China.
Brussels is set to unveil measures on Dec. 10 that are designed to support the auto industry, one of the EU’s most important sectors, in the face of high energy costs, tariffs on exports to the U.S. and Asian rivals eating into the bloc’s market.
German automakers and ACEA, the European industry lobby, have called for a weakening of rules designed to boost electric cars, while Stellantis’ chairman warned the industry risks an “irreversible decline” without help.
The regulation that all new vehicles from 2035 should have zero emissions was adopted in March 2023 when the outlook for battery electric vehicles was brighter.
The industry is now pushing for concessions. It hopes the European Commission will accept that CO2-neutral fuels, such as biofuels, could continue to power internal combustion engines, as well as accommodations for plug-in hybrids or range extenders.
Automakers, including Europe’s biggest, Volkswagen Group, have argued that immovable targets no longer make sense, and that the market, rather than legislators, should decide when combustion engines are fully phased out. They favor instead incentives to boost demand for electric vehicles.
Demand for EVs in Europe is rising, but not at the pace carmakers had once planned, with ACEA data showing a 16 percent market share for battery-electric vehicles in the first 10 months of the year, up from 13 percent a year previously.
Charging anxiety remains an issue for consumers, with central and eastern Europe behind on infrastructure, while high electricity costs are a concern in Germany.