Drumbeat in Brussels The end of the combustion engine in the EU is imminent

dpa

11.12.2025 - 19:14

From 2035, combustion engines could continue to be registered - but only under certain conditions. Details of a planned proposal have now leaked out from the EU Commission.

DPA

11.12.2025, 19:14

11.12.2025, 19:43

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Contrary to previous plans, new cars with combustion technology will still be allowed to be registered in the EU after 2035.
Germany in particular had recently been campaigning against the phase-out of combustion engines and was apparently able to prevail.
Experts are skeptical that the EU is backtracking on its climate targets.

The EU Commission wants to propose a reversal of the so-called combustion engine phase-out. According to the current state of planning, the authority wants to recommend that new cars with combustion technology should also be permitted after 2035, as confirmed by Commission circles to the German Press Agency. The proposal still has to be approved by the College of EU Commissioners.

Representatives of the EU member states and the European Parliament had actually agreed in 2022 that new cars in the EU would no longer be allowed to emit climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) during operation from 2035. The background to this is the so-called fleet limits, which actually provide for a 100 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from newly registered cars by 2035.

According to Commission circles, this target is now to be abandoned. However, climate gases emitted are to be fully offset by other measures. This could be achieved, for example, through the use of environmentally friendly "green steel".

Exemptions are planned for plug-in hybrids and e-cars with range extenders, in which small combustion engines increase the range. It was initially unclear whether the exemptions would also apply to classic petrol and diesel vehicles.

CSU politician Weber speaks of 90 percent reduction

German EPP parliamentary group leader Manfred Weber told the Bild newspaper: "For new registrations from 2035, a 90 percent reduction in CO2 emissions is now to become mandatory for car manufacturers' fleet targets instead of 100 percent." According to Weber, there will also be no 100 percent target from 2040.

The EU Commission initially did not wish to comment on the report when asked. The European Parliament and the EU member states must also approve the Commission's proposal. A spokesperson said on request: "Internal preparations and discussions are underway with a view to adoption by the College next week."

Search for a compromise not yet complete

It remains to be seen what compromise the institutions will agree on. In a joint letter in October, France and Spain spoke out in favor of largely retaining the original guidelines.

As reported by the French newspaper "Les Echos", France sent a letter to the Commission on Tuesday. In it, the government confirms that it is open to adjustments. "We support the introduction of targeted flexibility, particularly in the area of technology neutrality, provided that this is accompanied by clear regulatory incentives for industry-friendly production in Europe and made conditional on this," "Les Echos" quotes from the letter.

Criticism from the Greens

"A softening of the targets is bad for Europe as a business location," criticized Terry Reintke, Chair of the Green Group in the European Parliament. A lurching course would create planning uncertainty instead of leading the European car industry to the forefront of e-mobility development.

Presentation planned for next week

The Brussels authority wants to present its proposals for possible changes to the so-called combustion engine phase-out next week. In addition to proposals for phasing out combustion engines, other measures such as a battery strategy and proposals for more environmentally friendly company cars are also to be presented.

The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) emphasized that the Commission will officially present its proposals next week, "we will have to wait and see". For the German automotive industry, it is and remains crucial that a technology-open and pragmatic approach is chosen.

The outgoing BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said that turning away from the strict technology ban from 2035 would be a strong signal. Weber sees that climate protection should not be based on bans.

Chancellor writes letter to EU Commission

In recent weeks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has repeatedly spoken out vehemently in favor of changes to the planned ban. As recently as the end of November, he wrote a letter to the EU Commission asking it to correct the regulation on phasing out combustion engines. After 2035, vehicles with dual drive systems - i.e. battery and combustion engine - should continue to be permitted alongside purely battery-powered electric vehicles.

The black-red coalition had previously agreed to also advocate the registration of "highly efficient combustion engines" at EU level.

Some researchers are skeptical about overturning the ban on combustion engines

Patrick Plötz, a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Karlsruhe, called softening the zero-gram target for 2035 a fundamentally wrong approach. Sales of cars with combustion engines have been falling globally for years, the Science Media Center (SMC) quoted the researcher as saying. "Planning security and credibility are key elements of long-term industrial and climate policy and are fully provided by the 2035 target," he said.

Markus Lienkamp from the Chair of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), told the SMC: "If the EU continues to allow new cars with combustion engines after 2035, this will only help the European car industry in the short term."

Achim Kampker, engineer and professor at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH), on the other hand, considers a softening of the rules to be sensible in order to maintain competitiveness in Europe: "At the same time, however, the framework conditions for Germany as a business location must be massively improved so that the development of the value chains for batteries and hydrogen can succeed."