Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse criticizes the EU's 2035 combustion engine ban, urging a focus on emissions across the supply chain. BMW anticipates strong sales in 2025.
BERLIN (Reuters) -BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said the European Union’s planned phase-out of combustion engines by 2035 was a "big mistake", calling for a shift to emission measures that capture a vehicle's entire supply chain.
Zipse said in an interview with Politico, published on Friday, that setting a fixed date for the transition risked ignoring emissions across the value chain, including battery production and fuel sourcing.
He urged EU regulators to allow climate-friendly fuels beyond 2035, saying fuel producers must also be held accountable.
"We do ourselves no favours by setting arbitrary future dates by which all industries must adapt," he said in the interview, extracts from which were published on Friday morning. "The absurdity of the current rules is that the fuel makers - the Shells and the BPs - face no targets."
Despite problems facing the industry such as higher tariffs, weak demand and Chinese competition, Zipse said BMW remains on track to sell more than 2.5 million vehicles in 2025. “We are ahead of last year’s numbers as of August,” he said, noting growth particularly in Europe.
He was speaking ahead of the IAA motor show in Munich, Europe's biggest, at which the Bavarian-based company will launch the first model of a new class of electric vehicles.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse described the EU's planned phase-out of combustion engines by 2035 as a 'big mistake' and called for a shift to emission measures that capture emissions across the entire value chain.
Zipse expressed that setting a fixed date for the transition risks ignoring emissions from battery production and fuel sourcing, urging regulators to consider climate-friendly fuels beyond 2035.
Despite facing challenges such as higher tariffs and weak demand, Zipse stated that BMW is on track to sell more than 2.5 million vehicles in 2025, indicating confidence in their sales strategy.
BMW is preparing for the IAA motor show in Munich, where they will unveil the first model of a new class of electric vehicles, showcasing their commitment to innovation in the automotive sector.
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