EU plotting ban on internal combustion engine as of 2025: industry

(2 Mar 2021) The European Commission’s proposed Euro 7 emission rules on cars, vans, trucks and buses would amount to “a ban through the back door” of internal combustion engines as of 2025, if implemented in their current form, industry has said, calling the proposal premature and “completely out of the question”.

The ‘Euro 7‘ rules aim to ensure vehicles are clean over their entire lifetime, helping Europe to meet its European Green Deal emissions targets. The exact details of the measure are still under discussion, but they are already creating jitters at VDMA, a German trade association representing mechanical engineering companies.

“The planned obligation that new vehicles in Europe must be practically emission-free from 2025 onwards would be an ecological, economic and technological aberration,” VDMA said in a statement.

“The proposals for the Euro 7 regulation discussed so far jeopardise value chains far beyond the automotive industry by leading to a de facto ban on cars and trucks powered solely by internal combustion engines. Europe cannot afford that,” the statement said.

VDMA argues that the introduction of e-fuels means the internal combustion engine will continue to play a role in the shift to green transport.

E-fuels, such as liquid hydrogen, can be created from electricity provided by renewable sources, offering a green alternative to fossil fuels. However, these synthetic fuels currently have a much higher cost of production and require large amounts of renewable energy to be carbon neutral.

Frans Timmermans, the EU’s climate policy chief, said decisions will be made in dialogue with the car industry, but stressed that his intention was not to avoid “difficult topics and difficult decisions”.

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