Brussels has pulled the plug on a crucial vote to end sales of combustion engine cars by 2035, throwing the EU’s climate plan and the future of Europe’s car industry into uncertainty.
Brussels has no clear answer on what kind of car will be legal to sell in 2035. The European Commission’s plan to ban new combustion engine vehicles by that year has run aground. The vote set for October 5 vanished from the agenda without fanfare. Now, officials point to November 23 as the next possible date, but even that is up in the air. Official EU documents still require new cars to hit 0 g CO₂/km from 2035. Any move to relax this rule needs approval from both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
Politics, not technology, is holding things up. Member states could not agree on changes to Regulation 2019/631, which sets CO₂ limits for new cars and vans. The Commission, wary of a public defeat, yanked the proposal before it could be voted down. The latest draft would ease the original target: instead of a 100% emissions cut from 2021 levels, it calls for a 90% reduction. The remaining 10% could be offset with credits from renewable fuels or low-emission steel made in the EU. Several major European news outlets report that the European Parliament's transport committee delayed its vote by about two weeks. A full Parliament vote is now penciled in for November, but the date is still not locked in.
If the 90% reduction proposal is adopted, internal combustion engines could account for approximately 27–29% of new car registrations after 2035, according to estimates linked to the Commission's project.
This compromise is tangled. If it goes through, combustion engines could stay on the market after 2035—but only if carmakers can buy credits from two markets that barely exist. Europe has no real supply of renewable fuels or green steel at scale, so the offset system is more theory than practice. The technical hurdles pale next to the political ones. The European People’s Party wants even more wiggle room. Meanwhile, a group led by Spain, France, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Portugal says watering down the rules punishes companies that have already sunk billions into electrification. Germany, with the continent’s biggest auto industry, is pushing back hard. Clean Energy Wire and other sources say France and Germany have talked about more flexibility for automakers and extra steps to shield European industry from Chinese rivals, but there’s no formal EU move yet to cut the target to 80%.
For carmakers, this fog is poison. As one industry saying goes, “A framework that gets postponed every quarter costs more than a strict one: the industry cannot plan products based on drafts.” Without clear rules, product teams can’t lock in five-year plans. Investments in battery plants and electric platforms are left hanging. This regulatory limbo started not with a technical fight, but with pressure from manufacturers in 2025, when Brussels agreed to slow the original timeline. Since then, the process has drifted, leaving no solid ground for long-term bets. Official EU communications confirm that until a new law is passed, the current 2035 requirements stand. Carmakers can’t count on any relaxation until it’s signed into law.
The mechanism for offsetting the remaining 10% of emissions is not yet finalized as a definitive right to sell any combustion engine vehicles. The use of low-carbon European steel, biofuels, or synthetic fuels as compensation remains under political negotiation, and the parameters of this system are still being debated.
The 90% target now on the table is a trap for everyone. Carmakers hoping to keep hybrids or combustion models alive after 2035 would have to buy credits in renewable fuel or green steel—markets that barely exist. The cost would land on buyers, not disappear. At the same time, the phased rollout of Euro 7 emissions standards is making life harder for combustion engines, just as the CO₂ rules are up in the air. The two sets of rules are out of sync, adding to the confusion.
The real fight is between Berlin and Madrid. Germany, where the auto sector is woven into the economy, wants more time. Spain, France, and their northern partners argue that only a clear calendar justifies the billions already spent on electric vehicle infrastructure. Both sides have their reasons, but their goals clash. One side fears losing production now, the other worries about falling behind in technology. Clean Energy Wire reports that a blocking group of countries—France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal—has pushed back against further weakening the rules, saying it would punish companies that have already invested in electrification.
The price of indecision is already showing. In 2023, the 100% emissions cut looked set in stone. Two years later, reopening the law under industry pressure has sent a damaging message: in Europe, no target is ever final. This shakes faith in any future regulation. China, by contrast, has enforced quotas and credit systems with clear timelines for years, giving its industry the predictability Europe now lacks. The real issue is not how tough the rules are, but whether they stick.
Automakers have started to pause or rethink electrification plans as demand falls short. When both regulators and buyers hesitate, producers hold back. This hidden cost never shows up in legislative texts, but it shapes the real economy. As reported earlier, uncertainty over EU policy has already sparked calls for stronger guarantees for investment in Spain’s electric vehicle sector.
Pushing back the October vote may not change the arguments, but it chips away at trust in the process. If the November 23 session slips again, automakers will face the 2027–2028 product cycle with two clashing scenarios: one demanding full commitment to electric vehicles, the other allowing a slower shift. Designing for both is expensive, and betting wrong could shutter entire factories. The next vote will be critical, but the time lost by R&D teams chasing a moving target is gone for good.
Market data shows the current proposal would cut the CO₂ reduction from 100% to 90% by 2035, shifting the last 10% to credits in renewable fuel and green steel—two sectors with no real scale today. In Brussels, many expect the November vote to bring a wave of amendments, with the European People’s Party pushing to raise the compensable share above 10%. The real problem is not the ambition for 2035, but that Europe has spent a year without a clear framework. In this climate, regulatory uncertainty does more damage than the toughest rulebook.
