The European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional deal on October 27 to lower new car emissions and achieve a zero level in 2035. The planned law will terminate new internal combustion engine vehicles sale in the same year and likely accelerate automakers' transition to EVs. Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement before it can come into force.
According to The Wall Street Journal, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association shows that in 2021, one in every five new cars sold in the EU was electric. The organization expected the number to grow to three in five by the end of the decade.
The provisional deal on Thursday would require new cars sold in 2030 to lower 55% of the emission levels in 2021. It is much higher than the existing goal of a 37.5% reduction. Moreover, new vans sold in 2030 would need to reach a 50% lower emission level than in 2021. Both new cars and vans have to achieve zero-emission in 2035.
According to the agreement, the European Commission would propose rules that allow vehicles powered by carbon-neutral fuels to be sold after 2035. Carmakers manufacturing less than 10,000 vehicles annually could ask for a less strict emission target until 2036.
In addition, the agreement requires the European Commission to review the progress toward zero emission in 2026. The planned law still needs to be approved by its member states.
According to Reuters, Frans Timmermans, EU climate policy chief, said the agreement demonstrates that Europe is embracing the shift to zero-emission mobility, a strong signal to the industry and consumers.
Some Europe-based automakers have pledged to make EVs only from the 2030s, including Stellantis and Volkswagen.
Stellantis targets 100% EV sales in Europe and 50% in the US by 2030, while its CEO, Carlos Tavares, has said electrification is a technology chosen by politicians instead of the industry.
The CEO has argued that hybrid models should be taken more seriously in electrification, according to Electrek. He said carmakers would have to pass on additional costs of manufacturing EVs to customers unavoidably.
However, in a recent interview with a German newspaper, Uwe Hochschurtz, Stellantis' COO for enlarged Europe, said the people have decided that the automaker will be purely electric in the future.
According to Electrek, Hochschurtz also proposed a lower EV purchase tax rate to offset the price. He said the same tax rate should not be applied to electric and non-electric vehicles since the latter would impact the environment more.
