New EU vote confirms the 2035 ban on the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles

On Tuesday, the European Parliament formally approved a new law that will effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union (EU) from 2035.

The goal of this latest piece of automotive legislation is to accelerate the switch electric vehicles (EVs) and help tackle climate change.

As a part of the law change, carmakers operating within the EU must achieve a 100% cut in CO2 emissions from new cars sold. As a result, this would make it impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

The law change will also set a 55% cut in CO2 emissions for new cars sold from 2030 versus 2021 levels.

Also, new vans sold within the EU must comply with a 100% CO2 cut by 2035, and a 50% cut by 2030.

Previously, the levels were set at 37.5% – but lawmakers have now shifted the speed in which they want the 27 member states to see more EVs on the roads.

Dutch MEP Jan Huitema, and the EU Parliament’s lead negotiator on the law changes explained the reasonings for the change to other members in Brussels, Belgium.

He commented: “This regulation encourages the production of zero and low-emission vehicles. It contains an ambitious revision of the targets for 2030 and a zero-emission target for 2035, which is crucial to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

“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.”

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Although the EU member states had previously agreed the deal with lawmakers in October 2022, it still needed to be made official through a vote.

In total, 340 MEPs voted in favour of the ban, while 279 were against it and a further 21 abstained from the process.

The final approval is expected in March, where the official documents will be signed into law.

Following the vote, the EU announced that it would create an official methodology by 2025 for analysing and then reporting on C02 emissions for new internal combustion engines before the 2035 deadline.

The end goal for the EU is to be ‘climate neutral’ by 2050, which involved net zero greenhouse emissions – highlighting the importance of the legislation.

Currently, transportation accounts for a quarter of all C02 emissions in the EU.

Although most car manufactures in Europe have announced investments in making the switch to EVs, there has been some opposition at the timescale given to the industry.

As a result, the final law will include a clause where smaller carmakers that producing less than 10,000 vehicles per year can negotiate weaker targets for a further year.

Even though the Great Britain is no longer a part of the EU, the Government has already set out its own automotive targets for 2030 – reducing the time scale from 2035.

Are you looking to make the switch to an electric vehicle? What more can be done to help drivers choose an EV as their next vehicle? Leave your comments below.