Stellantis And BMW Want The Combustion Engine Ban To Be Loosened

If the EU has its way, only new cars that emit zero CO₂ will be sold here soon. By “later,” we’re talking about 2035, which is only ten years in the future. Ten years isn’t long for car manufacturers, so they’d benefit from knowing whether that deadline is set in stone or not. There seems to be a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding it now. At least, several car manufacturers want the EU to revise its plans.

BMW, for example, is one such example. According to Politico, CEO Oliver Zipse stated that he wants to see car emissions reviewed over their entire lifespan and production run, rather than a total ban on combustion engines. “We’re not doing ourselves any favors by setting arbitrary future deadlines for industries. The absurd thing is that fuel manufacturers like Shell and BP aren’t being given any targets.” Stellantis has also voiced criticism.

Simply eliminating new cars with combustion engines is too black-and-white a scenario, even according to Stellantis’s CEO. CEO Antonio Filosa, according to Il Sole 24 Ore and Les Echos, argues that the accelerated replacement of old cars with new cars with a variety of powertrains should be considered. “European policies that encourage the replacement of old cars with new cars with a broader range of powertrains would have a much greater impact on global CO₂ emissions than the new car market.”

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