EU Bans New Fossil Fuel Cars From 2035 - Time To Plug In To The Electric Era

Lawmakers from the European Parliament rejected efforts to weaken the proposal and instead got behind an effective EU wide ban on the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from the year 2035.

The proposal agreed on by European lawmakers earlier this week requires automakers to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 100 percent by 2035, effectively putting a stop to new ICE powered car registrations from the middle of the next decade.

The year chosen for the halt of sale of new fossil fuel powered cars in the European Union is quite significant too. With new cars lasting about 10 to 15 years on the roads today, 2035 is the last year that the EU could allow to end the sale of fossil fuel powered cars so that it could meet its target of going net zero emissions in 2050.

While there was some opposition among lawmakers with quite a few voting against the proposal first put forth by the European Commission last year. However, many carmakers have previously come out in support of the new proposal. Volkswagen has previously stated that it would stop selling combustion engine cars from 2035 in the continent while Ford and Volvo have both come out in support of the proposal from the European Commission.

However, there has been opposition from more than just politicians who had asked that the target be weakened to a 90% CO2 cut by 2035. A report by Reuters states that the German auto association VDA had lobbied lawmakers to reject the 2035 target which it claimed 'penalised alternative low-carbon fuels and was too early to commit to, given the uncertain rollout of charging infrastructure.'

According to data provided by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for only 18 percent of the new passenger cars sold in the EU last year. Sales numbers were down by quite a bit last year due to the semiconductor shortage that is still plaguing the auto industry.

The vote in the European Parliament will help the muti-nation bloc to uphold a key pillar of its plans to cut emission levels by 55 per cent by 2030 compared to levels measured in 1990. Currently 15 per cent of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions come from the vehicles plying on its roads.

However, the vote in the European Parliament does not mean that the proposal has become a law just yet. The European Parliament now has to negotiate with various member states on the final law.

The new vote will also now embolden automakers to switch even more quickly to pure electric vehicles. The European Union promotes the use of electric mobility in many ways with the bloc planning to install for 1 million new battery electric and hydrogen charging stations by the year 2025.

Thoughts On The EU Switching To EVs By 2035

The European Union has started the process which will see the end of new fossil fuel powered cars on its roads in the future. This will mean the end of the beautiful engine sounds that we have come to associate with cars, though less noise seems to be a low price to pay for survival.