EU could delay auto package as pressure mounts on 2035 target, newspaper reports

BERLIN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission could delay the announcement of a package to support the automotive sector, including a possible weakening of its 2035 combustion engine phase-out lobbied for by Germany and carmakers, according to a Handelsblatt report.

EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told the German business daily that the package could be delayed by a few "weeks".

The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is currently expected to make the announcement on December 10.

Brussels is working "very hard" to present the proposals this month but might not be ready until early January, Tzitzikostas said in the report, published late on Monday.

"We are still working on it. We want to present an automotive package that is truly comprehensive and covers all the necessary aspects," he added.

The commissioner signalled openness to Berlin's calls for more flexibility on the current target, which effectively bans sales of new combustion-engine cars from 2035, including appeals to allow plug-in hybrids and "highly efficient" combustion engines.

"We are open to all technologies," Tzitzikostas said, adding that a letter from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz outlining the proposed changes backed by industry was "very positively received".

(Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike Heine)