European Union drops controversial gas car ban originally set to take effect in 2035 after years of debate

The European Union has officially dropped the controversial gas car ban that was due to come into force in 2035.

Years of debate have ensued, with the move having polarized opinions as to whether the 2035 ban was too early for many countries.

While a total ban is off the table, there will be a watered-down version coming into force, announced just a few days ago by the European Commission.

But there will, for now, be no outright ban on the use of internal-combustion engines in 2035 within the EU.

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What has changed with the gas car ban?

The outright ban on cars with gas engines will no longer happen in 2035.

What will happen is that new vehicles in the EU have to comply with a 90 percent reduction in tailpipe emissions.

This figure will be measured against those produced in 2021.

The original ban was a 100 percent ban, which was in effect an outright ban on combustion engines.

But what about the final 10 percent of emissions?

According to the European Commission, this will be compensated for by the use of EU-made low-carbon steel.

BMW

This steel will be used in the construction of vehicles.

Alternatively, manufacturers can use sustainable fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels.

It might seem like a massive concession towards the manufacturers, but it isn’t quite that simple.

The new EU rules must still lead to lower emissions

This is highly likely to be a temporary measure before a 100 percent ban comes into effect.

Plus, the automotive manufacturers are still going to have to put a lot of effort into reducing emissions.

For example, in 2021, Volkswagen had an average carbon dioxide emissions of 118.5 grams per kilometer.

In 2035, the German manufacturer will have to bring this down to just 11.85g.

With just internal-combustion engines or diesel, that is virtually impossible.

Volkswagen

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids will therefore play a big role in getting these numbers down by 2035.

To help ease this transition, a $2.1 billion Battery Booster strategy was also announced by the EU.

This should help to create a European Union-based battery value chain.

At some point, though, ICE-powered cars will become a thing of the past in Europe.