Germany prevails: ban on petrol cars in 2035 is now pointless

The European ban on the sale of new cars with petrol engines after 2035 will be relaxed. The reason? Germany withdrew its support at the last minute and wanted an exception for e-fuel cars. And now the country gets it.

The European Parliament expressed its support for the ban on fuel cars in October. At the beginning of March, only the member states had to agree. Usually this is a formality. It almost never happens that a country withdraws permanently.

Germany withdrew its support at the last minute

But Germany did it because the ruling FDP party decided to reject the proposed law. As a result, the ban on the sale of new petrol cars from 2035 no longer found enough supporters in Europe.

There should now be an exception for e-fuel cars

Germany only wants to support the proposed ban if there is an exception for cars that run on synthetic fuel. And it comes now. After 2035, petrol cars may still be registered as long as they run on e-fuel.

The ban on petrol cars is now meaningless

What that means in practice is still a mystery, because in fact all petrol cars can run on e-fuel. So banning new petrol and diesel cars would be pointless.

Environmental groups have criticized the compromise

The environmental organization Greenpeace does not have a good word for the compromise that has now been reached. “[Dit] undermines climate protection and harms Europe. The transition to electric propulsion is diluted by this agreement.”

Synthetic fuel is still in its infancy

The development of e-fuels is still in its infancy. Synthetic fuel is expensive and not yet produced in large quantities. Enormous amounts of electricity are required to produce e-fuel.