EU could delay petrol and diesel car ban to 2040

Carmakers have been told the European Union intends to water down its ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel cars, according to a report from the Sunday Times.

The publication suggests that the EU’s ban is on the cusp of being moved back to 2040 from its current 2035 date – in stark contrast to the UK Government’s previous commitment to bring the ban forward to 2030.

The Sunday Times quotes ‘senior industry leaders’ as sources for the shift in deadline.

These include Tim Tozer, UK chairman of Allianz Partners and former UK MD of Mazda and Vauxhall, and an unnamed leading executive claiming large carmakers have already been told about the move. A date on an official EU announcement is yet to be confirmed.

The potential revision by the European Union comes only a few days after US president Donald Trump’s decision to reverse new car fuel efficiency standards brought in under his predecessor, Joe Biden, that were expected to increase take-up of electric cars.

The UK, however, committed in April 2025 to banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 under Labour’s manifesto pledge.

This was the original deadline, brought in by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, before it was then pushed back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak’s government in 2023.

In April 2025, Labour announced changes to 2030 Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) targets to increase flexibility for carmakers, while the EV pay-per-mile scheme launched in the Autumn Budget is predicted to reduce electric car sales.

For the EU, The Times cites pressure from car-producing countries, such as Germany and France, to relax zero-emission vehicle rules.

German Chancellor Freidrich Merz sent a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commision, in November stating that the goal should be to set “technology-neutral, flexible and realistic CO2 regulation that meets the EU’s climate protection goals without jeopardising innovation and industrial value creation”.

Department for Transport officials have told UK carmakers that they will not change the 2030 deadline, but progress towards the zero-emission vehicle mandate will be monitored in 2027, according to the Sunday Times.

If the EU does push its targets back without the UK following suit, this would directly affect the UK car industry. Three quarters of UK-built cars are exported, with Europe the biggest market.

This means that British car companies may have to create alternate strategies for home and export markets, including two production lines and different models.

Prior to the announcement of an EV pay-per-mile tax, which comes into effect in 2028, Chancellor Rachel Reeves abolished free VED for EVs from April 2025. This meant that millions of drivers were forced to pay electric car road tax for the first time this year.

November saw the UK’s weakest level of growth for new electric car demand in almost two years, with a 3.6% rise over the same period in 2024. Overall market share for electric cars sits at 22.7% so far in 2025 – growing, but significantly short of the 28% target set in the Government’s ZEV mandate quota.