Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU has abandoned plans to ban combustion engines by 2035, opting for a 90% CO2 reduction target, supporting the automotive industry and jobs.
FRANKFURT, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Plans to impose an effective ban on selling new cars with combustion engines in the European Union have been abandoned, a senior EU lawmaker told German mass tabloid Bild on Thursday.
Instead, there will be more flexible rules to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from cars, Manfred Weber, president of the EPP, the largest party in the European Parliament, was quoted as saying.
"For new registrations from 2035 onwards, a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions will now be mandatory for car manufacturers' fleet targets, instead of 100%," Weber told the paper.
"There will also be no 100% target from 2040 onwards. This means that the technology ban on combustion engines is off the table. All engines currently manufactured in Germany can therefore continue to be produced and sold."
Weber said this sent an important signal "to the entire automotive industry and secures tens of thousands of industrial jobs", reflecting concerns over the future of one of Europe's most important industries.
EU governments, including Germany and Italy, and several automakers have been lobbying for softer regulation, which currently sets a goal to cut carbon emissions from new cars to zero by 2035, effectively banning sales of new combustion-engine vehicles.
Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have all argued in favour of dropping the ban, instead letting customers decide what they want rather than having firm targets.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, writing by Christoph Steitz, editing by Miranda Murray and Thomas Seythal)
A combustion engine is an engine that generates power by burning fuel, typically gasoline or diesel, to create a controlled explosion that drives the engine's pistons.
Carbon dioxide emissions are the release of CO2 gas into the atmosphere, primarily from burning fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change and global warming.
The European Union's emissions target aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal to achieve a significant decrease in CO2 emissions from vehicles by 2035.
The automotive industry is crucial for Europe's economy, providing jobs and contributing to economic growth, making regulatory decisions about emissions and technology vital for its future.
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