BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - According to EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber, the EU Commission wants to overturn the combustion engine ban. "For new registrations from 2035 onwards, a 90 percent reduction in CO2 emissions will now be mandatory for car manufacturers' fleet targets, instead of 100 percent," Weber told the "Bild" newspaper. According to Weber, there will also be no 100 percent target from 2040 onwards.
The EU Commission did not initially want to comment on the report when asked. If the European Parliament and the EU member states also agree to the plan as described by Weber, the so-called combustion engine phase-out would be off the table. Representatives of the EU member states and the European Parliament had actually decided that new cars in the EU would no longer be allowed to emit climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) from 2035.
This would effectively mean that new cars with combustion engines would no longer be allowed to be registered in around ten years' time. The aim is to reduce emissions in the transport sector. Following pressure from industry and member states, the EU Commission announced its intention to review the regulation on the combustion engine phase-out.
The Brussels authority plans to present its proposals for possible changes to the so-called combustion engine phase-out next week. In addition to proposals for the combustion engine phase-out, further measures such as a battery strategy and proposals for more environmentally friendly company cars are also to be presented./mjm/DP/jha
