EU waters down plans to end new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035

"Under existing rules, all new cars sold in the EU from 2035 were required to be "zero emission"."

"Without changes, it said manufacturers would face "multi-billion-euro" penalties."

""2030 is around the corner, and market demand is too low to avoid the risk of multi-million-euro penalties for manufacturers," she said. "It will take time to build charging infrastructure and introduce fiscal and purchase incentives to get the market on track.""

The European Commission revised the 2035 car emissions rule to require 90% of new vehicles sold to meet a zero-emissions standard instead of 100%. The remaining 10% may include petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles, with measures such as increased use of EU low-carbon steel, biofuels and synthetic e-fuels intended to offset additional emissions. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association warned that electric vehicle demand is not growing fast enough and urged flexibility to avoid heavy penalties. Critics warned the change could slow the transition to electric vehicles and weaken Europe’s competitiveness.

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