Biggest EU Party Urges Commission to Scrap 2035 Combustion Engine Ban

EPP leader Manfred Weber says traditional cars could remain if they are allowed to offset emissions with carbon capture technology.

European People's Party President Manfred Weber at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 18, 2019. Vincent Kessler/Reuters

The European Union needs to scrap its total ban on selling new cars with combustion engines after 2035, according to the European People’s Party Group (EEP).

EU law stipulates that from 2035, all new cars that come on the market cannot emit any carbon dioxide (CO2), making it illegal to sell new fossil fuel-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the bloc.

In an interview with the Financial Times on April 16, Manfred Weber, who heads the center-right European People’s Party, said that he believed people should be able to buy petrol and diesel cars as long as the carbon emitted is offset.

“I use a classical combustion engine, with classical fuel, but then pay for storing CO2 in the soil, probably that is a business model for the future,” he said.

The Epoch Times asked the European Commission if it is considering dropping the car ban if the tech can be used to capture CO2 from vehicle exhausts.

The EPP, which is the biggest and most influential European political family group, has been calling for a revision of the ban on internal combustion engines. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is part of this group.

In October 2024, the group warned that if the ban is not dropped, “driving will become too expensive for many Europeans, and we will lose countless jobs in the automotive industry to competitors like China.”

Earlier in the year, the commission proposed softening its net-zero carbon emission targets for new cars.

However, the EU has held firm on the 2035 ICE ban.

The EU legislation states that it is “technology neutral,” which means that it allows for any solution, such as e-fuels, that meets emission targets.

Starting on Jan. 1, EU targets required a 15 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from 2021 levels for both cars and vans.

Von der Leyen said on March 4 that the EU executive arm will make a proposal that gives the industry three years, rather than only one, to meet the CO2 emission targets.

“The targets stay the same. They have to fulfil the targets, but it means more breathing space for industry,” she told a press conference.

To date, von der Leyen’s suggestions have not yet been approved as the law requires approval from the European Parliament and EU countries, who can propose further changes.

As EU CO2 reduction targets draw near, the appetite to revise or reconsider the legislation is growing stronger.

Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin criticized the policy earlier this year at the TEHA business forum in Cernobbio, Italy, saying that “the 2035 ban on new combustion engine cars is absurd and needs to be revised.”

Germany’s Volkswagen has announced that it is considering factory closures in the country for the first time amid growing pressure from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles.

The automaker is targeting $11 billion in savings by 2026 to navigate the transition to electric cars.

In a recent report, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said that, in 2024, China remained the primary source of new EU car imports, claiming a 17.2 percent market share.

The trade body represents 15 major automakers, including BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

‘Zero-Emission Transition Is Highly Challenging’

The ACEA board has previously stated that it is missing crucial conditions to “reach the necessary boost in production and adoption of zero-emission vehicles.”

Some of the issues it listed included problems related to charging and hydrogen refilling infrastructure, a competitive manufacturing environment, “affordable green energy,” purchase and tax incentives, and a secure supply of raw materials, hydrogen, and batteries.

It stated that “economic growth, consumer acceptance, and trust in infrastructure have not developed sufficiently either.”

“As a result, the zero-emission transition is highly challenging, with concerns about meeting the 2025 CO2 emission reduction targets for cars and vans on the rise,” the ACEA stated.

It stated that the current rules “do not account for the profound shift in the geopolitical and economic climate over the past years and the law’s inherent inability to adjust for real-world developments further erodes the competitiveness of the sector.”

“This raises the daunting prospect of either multi-billion-euro fines, which could otherwise be invested in the zero-emission transition, or unnecessary production cuts, job losses, and a weakened European supply and value chain at a time when we face fierce competition from other automaking regions,” the trade body stated.