Electric cars: Manufacturers lie in wait to force Brussels to delay the ban on combustion engines until 2035

As the Munich Mobility Show opens on September 9, European car manufacturers are speaking out against the timetable for replacing the car fleet with electric vehicles . The framework set by the European Commission is clear: to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, manufacturers are prohibited from selling new combustion-engine cars, including hybrids that combine combustion and electric power, from 2035.

But the sector's manufacturers intend to negotiate tooth and nail to delay the implementation of this regulation. This is yet another example, if one were needed, of companies' desire to impose their agenda on political power, in the name of their own interests.

Yet the latest indicators are not in the red. Electric car sales are growing. In 2025, between January and July, more than a million were sold in Europe. This represents a jump of around 24% compared to 2024. According to the Boston Consulting Group , a specialist in the sector, European companies Volkswagen , then BMW, Renault, Audi and Skoda have even overtaken their competitor Tesla , a long-standing player in the sector, for the first time.

But not everything is rosy, argue manufacturers. Sales volumes remain insufficient to be on a trajectory that would allow 100% zero-emission vehicles to be produced by 2035. This makes manufacturers doubt their ability to be ready in time.

But do they really want to? This transition to all-electric that they are supposed to make doesn't fit with their economic strategy. Moreover, companies are making no secret of it: for reasons of profitability, they are not aiming for this complete transition today and are planning to release new hybrid models in the coming months, such as the Renault Clio.

The bosses of various companies in the sector have been increasing the pressure for several days, ahead of a meeting they are due to hold with the European Commission. The goal of a 100% electric fleet by 2035 is "unattainable," insisted Ola Källenius, boss of Mercedes-Benz and president of the European Manufacturers Association (ACEA). This credo was echoed by BMW management last Friday, and this September 8 in Les Échos by Antonio Filosa, the new director of Stellantis . All are raising the spectre of European decline in the face of Chinese and American competition and are calling for this obligation to be postponed until 2050.

Automotive industry bosses have all the more reason to hope to be heard given that this period is marked by a decline in the European Union's environmental objectives . Last March, the Commission reversed its CO2 emissions reduction trajectory.

It also announced the replacement of the fine planned against car manufacturers in the event of unfulfilled obligations with a "CO2 debt" that could be erased in 2026 or 2027. Another helping hand: the adoption of a "review clause" for 100% electric vehicles set for 2026, to make adjustments if necessary. As a final boost to European production, in the summer of 2024, the EU introduced anti-dumping taxes to curb the rise in the purchase of electric vehicles manufactured in China.

The French government has also been generous with gifts to encourage the automotive sector to go green. On September 8, it was announced that a €1,000 " bonus " would be launched by October for the purchase of electric vehicles assembled in Europe and equipped with a European battery.

This bonus is in addition to the " ecological bonus " already implemented on July 1, 2025, for all electric vehicle purchases. As a result, according to some calculations, buyers will be able to receive aid ranging from €2,000 to €3,100, regardless of income.