Germany will urge the European Union to scrap a planned 2035 target for banning the sale of petrol- and diesel-powered cars, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, November 28th—as Berlin battles to boost its embattled car industry.
Speaking at a press conference, Merz said he would write to the European Commission to ask it to permit the sale of hybrid and highly efficient combustion engine cars beyond 2035 in addition to electric vehicles (EVs).
“We’re sending the right signal to the commission with this letter,” Merz said, adding that the German government wanted to protect the climate in “a technology-neutral way.”
The EU’s planned ban has faced complaints from some automakers that it was unworkable, given European drivers’ tepid takeup of EVs. (Others have pointed out it will decimate the business of selling second-hand cars.) e In September, the EU said it would fast-track a review of its plans to give carmakers more certainty.
Merz has repeatedly spoken out against the ban—but he needed to discuss the matter with his centre-left Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners before communicating a joint position to the EU. Speaking alongside Merz, SPD Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said his party agreed with Merz’s centre-right CDU that there had to be changes to the ban, adding
The future viability of the German automotive industry, securing jobs, that is the key argument for us…. We agree that the future of the industry is electric… (but) we need to be open to more technologies, we need flexibility.
On Wednesday, November 26th, European Commission Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné said that the EU was willing to show “flexibility” in how the combustion engine phase-out is achieved, ahead of a commission announcement expected on December 10th.
