EU announces weakening of 2035 new car emissions targets
Thu 18 December 2025
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The European Union has announced that from 2035 carmakers will need to comply with a 90% tailpipe emissions reduction target, while the remaining 10% emissions will need to be compensated through the use of locally-sourced low carbon steel, or from e-fuels and biofuels.
The Commission describes the change from a 100 percent zero emission target as "an ambitious yet pragmatic policy framework to ensure 2050 climate neutrality and strategic independence while providing more flexibility to manufacturers".
An 'explainer' from Brussels-based NGO Transport + Environment says that the 90% CO₂ reduction target is set against the 2021 emissions baseline of 110 gCO₂/km. Carmakers’ average fleet emissions will have to stay below 11 gCO₂/km in 2035. This extra leeway on CO₂ will allow carmakers to sell any powertrain after 2035, including petrol, diesel, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and range extenders. However, if a carmaker chooses, for example, to sell high-end luxury petrol cars, then fewer units can be sold.
Commenting on the announcement, which had been anticipated for some time, Chris Heron, Secretary-General of E-Mobility Europe, said (reported by Automotive World) the move sends the wrong signal at a critical moment for global competitiveness. “While China accelerates, Europe is hesitating, and hesitation is not a strategy.
"Changing the rules midway through the game undermines business confidence after companies have already committed capital and built factories around a 100% trajectory.
"But once the dust settles, we’re confident the core of the 2035 framework will still matter more for the market than today’s exemptions. By 2035, demand for electric vehicles will be shaped by their superior cost, efficiency, and technology maturity. Europe’s long-term competitiveness will be most certain when its policies reinforce that trajectory”.
The UK Government says it remains committed to it's 2035 full ICE phase-out target, as previously outlined. A Government spokesperson confirmed that (despite earlier reports to the contrary) it will not be bringing forward a review of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate planned for 2027.
The European Commission President von der Leyen said that innovation, clean mobility and competitiveness remain key priorities for the EU: “As technology rapidly transforms mobility and geopolitics reshapes global competition, Europe remains at the forefront of the global clean transition.”
She said that the EU will stay the course towards clean mobility "with pragmatism".
The Commission is also proposing a targeted amendment to the CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles with a flexibility easing the compliance with the 2030 targets.
In a related development, the Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch says that her party would abolish the ZEV mandate if it comes to power after the next UK General Election. Though the ZEV mandate was introduced by the last Conservative government (of which Badenoch was a member) she said that the change in policy would “relieve manufacturers of more costly regulatory obligations”.
While the UK's motor industry trade organisation, the SMMT, has described the ZEV mandate targets as 'incredibly challenging', its CEO Mike Hawes has called for more supporting incentives and greater flexibility, rather than abolition.
A report published by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) earlier found that the total Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution to the UK economy of the UK automotive sector could rise by 35%, or £16.1 billion, by 2035 or decrease by 73%, or £34.1 billion, depending on how rapidly the sector transitions to the manufacture of battery electric vehicles.
A statement from the ECIU following the EU's announcement said: "Some are already suggesting the UK should follow the EU’s example in watering down its own EV policies, but to do so would cost British families by keeping them in dirtier and more expensive petrol cars for longer.
"Stable policy will give companies the confidence to invest billions in the UK’s charging infrastructure, and will avoid jeopardising investments in our car industry and its supply chains.
"It was government policy that saw Sunderland chosen to build Nissan's original electric Leaf, and today the latest Nissan EV has started rolling off the production lines in the North East, securing jobs for years to come."
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