New mobility model: the end of internal combustion cars in 2035?
Today’s society is increasingly aware of the negative impact pollution has on the environment, and of the need to take important measures — such as a new mobility model — to prevent the ongoing deterioration of the planet’s natural resources.
In this context, the European Union is developing different programmes and regulations aligned with this goal, such as reducing current CO₂ emissions, which are truly harmful to the environment.
One of these measures is to end the sale of internal combustion engine cars in 2035 — an objective that would significantly reduce the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere, but which raises a number of doubts and questions about its feasibility and success. The ban on selling petrol and diesel cars has sparked a major debate in the sector and in society, given the many pros and cons involved.
EUROPEAN RULES ON CO₂ EMISSIONS FOR PASSENGER CARS AND VANS
The new European Fit for 55 regulation aims to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from road vehicles, encouraging the automotive industry to commit to zero-emission vehicles — in other words, to electric cars.
According to the data used by the EU, CO₂ emissions from passenger cars and vans account for 15% of the total (12% for passenger cars and almost 3% for vans). For this reason, it has been decided to ban the sale of vehicles with diesel and petrol engines from 2035 onwards, which will mean a major reduction in polluting emissions into the atmosphere across Europe.
This regulation sets the following requirements:
Reduce CO₂ emissions by 55% for new cars and by 50% for delivery vehicles (vans). This reduction applies to new vehicles from 2030 to 2034, and the reduction percentage is relative to 2021 data.
Reduce CO₂ emissions from passenger cars and vans by 100% from 2035 onwards.
As we can see, the targets from 2030 onwards become truly demanding for manufacturers, who must make the final leap in 2035 towards producing zero-emission vehicles — which implies abandoning the current production of internal combustion engine cars.
However, the European Union’s measures up to 2030 are not as demanding, leaving the CO₂ emissions reduction target at 15%. At AUSSA, we are convinced that emissions reduction is possible — that’s why this year we managed to reduce them by 17.6%.
It is important to highlight that the sale of hybrid cars will also fall under the ban from 2035, since these vehicles include combustion engines that generate CO₂ emissions. It is also worth noting that the European regulation only refers to passenger cars and vans, so motorbikes will be excluded from this ban.
HOW ARE MANUFACTURERS REACTING TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT?
One of the main players in this radical change in the sector is car manufacturers. ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) has already expressed concern about the 2035 scenario. The main difficulty in complying with the regulation comes from the large number of external factors that influence the transition and are not controllable by manufacturers — especially the need to have a massive network of charging points for hybrid and electric cars.
Another concern is the scarcity of the resources needed to manufacture batteries, the key component for the operation of electric vehicles. Another point highlighted by manufacturers is the increase in costs, which has a direct impact on business profitability and will probably lead to a significant increase in the final price of vehicles from 2030 onwards.
Economic viability is another of the most controversial aspects of this European regulation, since it implies higher costs for users when purchasing passenger cars and vans at higher prices. In this regard, government measures and financing programmes will play a decisive role in making electric vehicles accessible to everyone.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN FROM 2035 WITH THE NEW MOBILITY MODEL AND THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION VEHICLE FLEET?
From 2035 onwards, only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed to be sold in the European Union. This raises many questions about the existing vehicle fleet that, at that time, will still use diesel and petrol engines. The reality is that the European regulation ends their sale, but not their use. In fact, until the end of 2034 there will be no ban on buying combustion vehicles.
However, the use of these vehicles is already being limited in certain areas of large cities, and the trend is that, over time, these restrictions will become increasingly strict (with the aim of discouraging users from purchasing them).
The EU will probably also increase diesel and petrol prices over time as another deterrent measure to reduce purchases of these polluting vehicles and to make electric alternatives more attractive.
The new EU regulation seeks to guarantee the new sustainable mobility model by eliminating the sale of internal combustion engine cars from 2035, which means manufacturers must make a significant effort to meet the established deadlines and carry out the transition efficiently and profitably.
Although most of the burden of this change falls on manufacturers, the reality is that for it to be implemented effectively, the involvement of all stakeholders will be needed — such as governments, public administrations and users themselves. These are very demanding measures that will come into force in 2030 and 2035, so the time left is relatively short and there are still many aspects to resolve.
