EU expected to delay announcement on car climate target, industry source says

It is likely that the European Commission will delay announcing its updated plan on climate targets for the auto sector, an industry source said on Tuesday, following pressure on Brussels to weaken a 2035 cut-off for combustion engines.

It is likely that the European Commission will delay announcing its updated plan on climate targets for the auto sector, an industry source said on Tuesday, following pressure on Brussels to weaken a 2035 cut-off for combustion engines. With the backing of Germany, European carmakers are lobbying Brussels for greater flexibility as they navigate the costly shift to electric while facing competition from China and margin-squeezing tariffs.

The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is scheduled to make an announcement on December 10 on a package to support the automotive sector, including a possible revision of an effective 2035 ban on sales of new combustion engines. The German car industry source said that date would probably be delayed.

Earlier this week, EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told Handelsblatt the announcement of the package could be delayed until early January. A letter to Brussels from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appealing for plug-in hybrids and "highly efficient" combustion engines to be exempt from the cut-off was well received, the EU official told the German business daily.