The European Parliament’s approved deal includes some flexibilities for small car manufacturers.
The European Parliament formally approved on Tuesday a law to effectively ban the sale of new gas and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035.
With 340 votes in favor, 279 against, and 21 abstentions, the lawmakers of the 27-country bloc nations approved the new CO2 emissions reduction targets for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. In a move to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, the Parliament now targets the intermediate emissions reduction at 55% for cars and 50% for vans for 2030. According to reports, the previous 2030 emissions target was 37.5% for new cars sold.
The regulation is crucial to reach the EU’s climate neutrality goal by 2050, Jan Huitema, Rapporteur at European Parliament said.
“These targets create clarity for the car industry and stimulate innovation and investments for car manufacturers. Purchasing and driving zero-emission cars will become cheaper for consumers and a second-hand market will emerge more quickly. It makes sustainable driving accessible to everyone,” he added.
The EU countries first agreed to the deal with lawmakers last October. Final approval is likely to happen next month, according to a Reuters report; adding that many carmakers like Volkswagen have already announced their plans for this transition.
Last year, the carmaker announced it would produce only electric cars in Europe by 2033. German luxury carmaker Audi also said to stop making fossil fuel cars by 2033.
On the other hand, some carmakers like Renault have shown resistance ever since the law was proposed in 2021. Renault hopes to push out the transition by 2040, instead of 3035.
As a result of this resistance from some industry tycoons, the European Parliament’s approved deal on Tuesday includes some flexibilities. Small car manufacturers making less than 10,000 new cars or less than 22,000 new vans per year, can negotiate weaker targets until 2036.
