“Weakening the EU clean car rules rewards laggards and does little for Europe’s car industry except to leave it further behind China on electric vehicles,” William Todts, executive director of green NGO Transport & Environment, said in a statement.
The amendment is part of the Commission’s broader automotive action plan. Ideas on how to pull the continent’s automakers out of a spiraling crisis brought on by the transition to electric vehicles and growing competition with China will be presented to the public on Wednesday.
Other components of the plan include boosting demand for electric vehicles and creating an EU battery sector, according to a draft seen by POLITICO.
The 2025 emission target is part of the broader Green Deal effort to slash transport emissions by ending the sale of new combustion engine vehicles from 2035. A review of the law is set for 2026, but the Commission said on Monday it will “speed up” that review and include “technological neutrality as a core principle.”
The EPP and industry insiders have called for the law’s review to be conducted in 2025, which could bolster their argument for tweaking the broader legislation as the review would then be based on 2024’s sluggish EV sales figures.
Several member countries, led by Italy and the Czech Republic, have been lobbying for biofuels and e-fuels to be included in the law going forward as the fuels can run in existing engines.
