European Parliament votes to ban new combustion engine cars by 2035

The European Parliament has approved a proposal to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars from 2035. This brings the law in question one step closer. The EU is now entering into negotiations with individual EU member states.

The European Parliament agreed with the proposal to reduce the CO₂ emissions of new cars by 100 percent, effectively banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from that year. Some lawmakers wanted to water down the proposal to a 90 percent reduction, but that was rejected, writes news agency Reuters. Finally became the proposal adopted unchanged by 339 votes in favour, 249 votes against and 24 abstentions.

This proposal was submitted by the European Commission last year and is part of the Fit for 55 package, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by 55 percent by 2030. The proposal to ban the sale of new cars with a combustion engine is intended to accelerate the transition to electric driving within Europe. This is supported by a bill that requires EU countries to install more charging stations.

Several car manufacturers have previously supported the EU’s proposal, including Ford and Volvo. Volkswagen also wants to stop selling cars with a combustion engine by 2035. At the same time, not all automakers seem to be happy with the potential sales ban. Reuters says it has seen emails showing industry groups such as the German auto organization VDA have lobbied lawmakers to reject the 2035 target.

They say the targets would penalize “alternative low-carbon fuels” and it is too early to enact the ban due to “the uncertain roll-out of charging infrastructure,” the news agency writes. “Our positions are transparent. It is our mission to develop the best solutions with all parties involved”, a VDA spokesperson responds.

The proposal has not yet been finalized. First, individual EU countries must agree to the law. Members of the European Parliament will enter into negotiations with the Member States for this. The parliament does not say how long that is expected to take.