EU announces agreement to ban the sale of new combustion-engine cars and vans by 2035…

The European Union (EU) has announced a new law to ban the sale of new diesel- and petrol-powered vehicles from 2035.

The Council and the European Parliament has reached a tentative agreement on stricter CO2 emission performance standards for new cars and vans, part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package. This is the EU’s latest effort to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and fight climate change.

New laws passed by the European Parliament and the Council state that car manufacturers must achieve a 100% reduction in C02 emissions by 2035. In other words, all 27 Member States will no longer be able to sell combustion-powered vehicles.

The agreement also included a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% for new cars between 2030 and 2035, compared to 2021 levels. This reduction was considerably increased in comparison with previous legislation which provided for a 37.5% reduction over this period. As far as new vans in the EU are concerned, a law also stipulates that CO2 emissions must be reduced by 100% by 2035; however, there will be a 50% CO2 emission reduction target between 2030 and 2035.

Smaller vehicle manufacturers can negotiate for weaker targets until 2036 but must then achieve the EU’s net zero targets set out in the new laws.

This is the latest development in the EU’s aim of reaching net zero emissions, and funding will remain in place to help the industry in its transition.

According to recent reports, the regulatory incentive mechanism will be maintained for zero and low-emission vehicles (ZLEV) will be reviewed soon. Under this mechanism, if a manufacturer meets certain benchmark criteria for the sales of zero- and low-emission vehicles, it can be rewarded with less stringent CO2 targets. The co-legislators agreed to increase the benchmark to 25% for cars and 17% for vans until 2030. This is because the EU wants to be able to bring more affordable zero-emissions cars to market.

Despite the several difficulties the industry has faced in recent years, the UK government approved the 2030 sales ban on diesel and petrol vehicles earlier this month.

The UK government wants to support the UK in achieving its aim of having net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which is similar to the EU announcement.

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