European carmakers are to be given two extra years to meet this year’s pollution target, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said, in a further rollback of her green deal climate policies.
Companies who sell too many dirty vehicles this year will be allowed to compensate by selling more clean vehicles in the two years that follow, under a proposal that would stretch the window of compliance for the 2025 fleet emissions target to 2027.
Von der Leyen said the change would grant the industry more “breathing space” but overall targets would not change.
Environmental groups said the proposal rewarded companies that had failed to invest in meeting the targets and warned it would slow the transition to cleaner cars, particularly cheap ones.
“Weakening the EU clean car rules rewards laggards and does little for Europe’s car industry – except to leave it further behind China on electric vehicles,” said William Todts, the executive director of the campaign group Transport & Environment.
Agustín Reyna, the director general of the consumer group BEUC, said the decision would also make electric cars less available and affordable. “This is really the wrong signal to consumers. This is like putting the car in reverse while it’s already at full speed on the motorway,” he said.
Carbon emissions from new passenger cars fell by 28% between 2019 and 2023, according to the European Environment Agency, driven by a surge in electric vehicles, which release fewer pollutants than those that burn fossil fuels. But EV sales slumped in 2024, raising the prospect of large fines on carmakers with dirty fleets.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the industry group that lobbied for looser targets, said the market for zero-emissions vehicles was not picking up fast enough and called for greater support to boost demand, improve charging infrastructure and reduce manufacturing costs.
“The transition to zero-emission mobility and a thriving EU automotive industry must progress together – this is non-negotiable,” said Ola Källenius, the president of the ACEA and CEO of carmaker Mercedes-Benz.
The announcement, which is to be proposed in full later this month, would need to be agreed by EU governments and the European parliament. It comes a week after the commission revealed its proposals to gut key green finance rules, which were agreed during its last term.
Shares in European car makers rose after the announcement. Volkswagen was up more than 2%, Renault was up 1.4%, Mercedes-Benz rose 1.6% and BMW was up 1.2%.
