2035 ban on combustion engines: Brussels rethinks the EU deadline

The planned 2035 ban on combustion engines has made headlines again after Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Commissioner for Transport, said Brussels is examining measures that could extend the life of these engines.

The argument has rarely been as heated. A few years ago, the ambition to cut CO₂ emissions from new cars by 100% by 2035 looked set in stone - effectively a death sentence for combustion engines. Now, the conversation increasingly revolves around either pushing that target back or softening it by creating multiple exemptions (plug-in hybrids, EREV, biofuels and synthetic fuels). On top of that, external policy pressures - including decisions taken in the US and China - are only adding more fuel to the fire.

So what has changed to the point where the agreed goals are being questioned? That was exactly the focus of this episode of Auto Rádio, a Razão Automóvel podcast supported by PiscaPisca.pt.

End of combustion engines… postponed?

The 100% CO₂ reduction targets for 2035 were approved by the European Commission (EC) in 2022. At the time, there were no exceptions, and the expectation was that cars with combustion engines would no longer be sold from 2035 onwards.

Since then, a series of shifts and delays have entered the discussion. One major reason is that electric car uptake is well below projections. Up to October 2025, EVs accounted for just 16.4% of sales in the EU, at a point when they were expected to represent 30% of sales (source: ACEA).

Back then, Thierry Breton - former French Minister of the Economy and European Commissioner for the Internal Market - warned of the potential downsides of a ban: a possible drop in exports, the loss of 600,000 jobs, and higher car costs for Europeans.

It took only three years of EV sales falling far short of expectations for alarm bells to ring. The European car industry has poured hundreds of billions of euros into developing and producing electric models that have not delivered the hoped-for return, and factories and jobs are now at risk.

Most manufacturers and suppliers, along with several EU countries, have been pressing for a review of the targets. In this Auto Rádio episode, you’ll hear what is at stake.

What will happen next?

The European Commission is now preparing a review of what was agreed in 2022, and Apostolos Tzitzikostas’ recent remarks - as the Commissioner responsible for Transport - have intensified rumours that the EU could indeed delay the 2035 target.

So far, however, the Commission has not provided definitive answers - we may get clarification as early as next week - leaving both manufacturers and consumers without a clear view of what lies ahead.

See you on Auto Rádio next week

There is no shortage of reasons, then, to watch or listen to the latest Auto Rádio episode, which returns next week on the usual platforms: YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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