After the EU Parliament said yes to the end of all new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2035, the states also agreed. Is the next step the combustion engine driving ban? FOCUS Online says what you need to know about the topic.
The EU states have agreed on a registration ban for combustion vehicles from 2035. The EU Parliament has already voted in favor of a ban. Officially, a compromise still has to be found in joint negotiations between the two institutions. But nothing should change about the ban itself. FOCUS Online explains what drivers need to know about the subject.
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For all cars that emit CO2 during operation. The ban does not initially apply to trucks. The ban includes:
Only so-called “Zero Emission Vehicles” are permitted, i.e. electric cars (abbreviated BEV, Battery Electric Vehicles) or fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV / Fuel Cell Emission Vehicles), which emit no CO2 during operation. There could be an exception for combustion engines that use climate fuel (e-fuels) – see below.
As things stand, yes. The ban should only apply to new registrations of combustion engines and not to the existing fleet. However, it remains to be seen whether this will remain the case. Spain, for example, is already planning to ban the operation of all combustion engines from a certain date (2050). Electric car lobby groups and climate activists are likely to demand such bans for the whole EU sooner or later. Driving bans for combustion engines are theoretically conceivable, even if they would of course run counter to the idea of sustainability. On average, a car in Germany lasts 18 years before it is scrapped.
Here, too, there should be no further bans according to the current status; they would probably also be difficult to enforce legally and hardly justifiable in terms of sustainability. However, the maintenance costs are likely to be even higher by then due to rising fuel prices.
Various scenarios are conceivable here. Basically, the interest in electric cars is increasing rapidly, especially since fuel prices will continue to climb due to steadily rising CO2 taxes. At the same time, the demand for petrol and diesel cars is likely to fall and their prices to fall. On the other hand, there will be hardly any new cars with classic drives in the coming years, so the supply will drop rapidly – probably faster than the demand. That would speak for stable used car prices, at least in the coming years, especially for economical vehicles with manageable maintenance costs – and probably also for classic sports cars.
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no By definition, the EU stipulates that only electric vehicles do not emit CO2, even if electric cars have a very variable climate balance depending on the electricity mix. This determination by the EU has been criticized by numerous scientists for a long time, but politicians have so far refused to acknowledge the criticism.
This is now being negotiated, but is not fixed yet. The combustion engine off had triggered a controversy within the traffic light coalition. The Greens and SPD were in favor of banning internal combustion engines from 2035, while the FDP was against it. Federal Minister of Finance and FDP leader Christian Lindner emphasized on Twitter on Tuesday that his approval of the end of combustion engines is tied to the fact that combustion engines with e-fuels will also be allowed after 2035. “Combustion engines with CO2-free fuels should also be used as technology after 2035 be possible in all vehicles. Our approval is bound to that,” wrote Lindner. Cars with e-fuels can be driven more or less climate-neutrally, and many manufacturers are already successfully testing this. This position has now been included in the vote – but with one clear restriction: E-fuels should not play a role in the fleet limits. Accordingly, there is little motivation for car manufacturers to plan with such vehicles on the EU market.
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Similar to the question of whether the amount of electricity and above all the current peaks can be managed at all in practice when millions of electric cars are being charged at the same time, the practicability of e-fuels is also unclear; e.g. if and when these are available in sufficient quantities and where they are produced.
However, e-fuels would offer a backup in the event that the rollout of electric mobility across the board does not work equally well in all EU countries. In addition, already produced diesel and petrol cars with e-fuels could contribute more to climate protection. Whether the car manufacturers make use of this option for new cars or not is up to them. In particular, small series combustion engines, such as a Porsche 911 or Ferrari with a petrol engine, are conceivable in the very upper price segment for enthusiasts who, thanks to e-fuels, can still drive in a climate-friendly manner.
Many countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands and France, have agreed to phasing out combustion engines because some of them have already imposed their own bans. Norway, for example, intends to stop selling vehicles with classic petrol or diesel engines from 2025. Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium most recently aimed for the year 2030, France wanted to follow up by 2040 at the latest.
Other countries, such as those in Eastern Europe, were more critical, but did not block the end of combustion engines. According to information from EU circles, southern and eastern European countries in particular have been promised substantial financial aid with which they are to expand their charging infrastructure.
The semi-state Volkswagen group and Mercedes welcome the ban because they want to switch their model ranges to electric quickly anyway. BMW spoke out against the policy of prohibition and announced that it would sell combustion engines in addition to e-cars as long as there was a market for them. Toyota also rejects a combustion ban. However, almost all manufacturers have already adapted to the EU ban by offering a wide range of models with electric drives by 2035 or by switching completely before that – for example Audi or Opel. Petrol and hybrids would then only be sold in other countries, such as China or the USA.
This topic has been hotly debated lately. In theory, the ban also eliminates any argument for further promotion of electric cars with purchase premiums and tax advantages. Because a technology, the alternatives of which are banned anyway, could hardly be cross-financed with billions of taxpayers’ money – it would no longer have to assert itself, but would already have.
However, the car manufacturers want to continue to sit on the taxpayers’ pockets. After the EU states had voted, the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK) emphasized: “The CO2 targets that have been decided can only be achieved with strong purchasing incentives and a good charging infrastructure CO2 requirements therefore in no way together.”
In addition, the loss of vehicle tax due to the tax exemption for electric vehicles should quickly become so large that it would have to be compensated; and the fewer petrol and diesel cars there are, the less tax the state collects for them at the gas station. In any case, the ban on combustion engines will significantly increase the pressure to finally make electric car owners share in the costs of roads, infrastructure and charging stations. A toll for all roads is already being discussed in EU circles as a model for this.
All electric car and plug-in hybrid models at a glance
On our e-mobility portal EFAHRER.com you will find all e-vehicles available on the German market
You can also arrange a test drive for the car of your choice free of charge and thus start e-mobility in an uncomplicated manner.
