It's official: the EU is cancelling its 2035 ICE ban

Carmakers will still be able to sell combustion engines in the European Union beyond 2035, with the European Commission confirming that it will water down its original targets.

Under current legislation, manufacturers had been told to reduce the total tailpipe emissions of their products by 100 per cent from 2035 onwards, effectively banning hybrids and pure combustion cars.

But after plenty of lobbying from Europe’s largest carmakers and some national governments, the European Commission has now proposed altering that figure to a 90 per cent reduction in tailpipe emissions compared to 2021.

That means a few combustion-engined cars will be able to remain on sale, although the proposal does still require approval from the European Parliament. Carmakers not hitting a 100 per cent reduction will have to offset the remaining 10 per cent by using low-carbon steel made in Europe and CO2-neutral fuels.

At the same time, the Commission also proposed ‘super credits’ for anyone building small electric cars that are under 4.2m in length, made in the EU and cost between €15,000 and €20,000. Essentially, the sale of one of these cars will count as 1.3 cars towards the emissions target for manufacturers.