The European Commission recently reached agreement on the decision that from 2035 only zero-emission new cars may be sold within the EU. A lobby of makers of Italian supercars in particular has not been able to change that. An exception has been made, but only for manufacturers who produce less than 1000 cars per year.
Exception for eco-fuels
Now Germany also wants an exception to be made so that new cars with a combustion engine can also be sold after 2035. Unlike the Italian supercar manufacturers, the Germans want that exception to apply to combustion engines powered by eco-fuels.
With that exception, the Germans are referring, among other things, to hydrogen and synthetic fuels that have no CO2 emissions. Purely theoretically, cars with internal combustion engines powered by such fuels are also emission-free. However, there is also criticism of the fact that the production of these fuels cannot always be called ‘green’. But yes, that also applies to the production of electricity needed to charge BEVs.
Anyway, the discussion has now been rekindled. The rule that all new cars sold within the EU from 2035 must be emission-free is in place. How will that be completed? The Germans still want to argue about that. Transport Minister Volker Wissing has already called out that without the exception, Germany intends not to endorse the ban on the sale of new fuel-engined cars
Political power German car manufacturers
Germany has been the European cradle of the automotive industry for decades. The power of major manufacturers and brands such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Opel and Porsche also extends to the political scene, both regionally, in the various Bundesländern and nationally.
A good example of this is the fact that all attempts to introduce a national maximum speed limit on motorways have so far failed. So there are still highways where you can drive as fast as you want. But whether the influence of the German car brands will also extend to Brussels? That chance doesn’t seem very big if you ask me.
