The European Parliament has officially approved a law that will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars starting in 2035. The move is an attempt to kickstart the transition to a zero-emissions future and will also include vans alongside passenger cars.
The vote to approve the law saw 340 votes in favour and 279 against, with 21 choosing to abstain. While newcars and vanswill no longer be allowed to be sold with petrol or diesel engines starting in 2035, there are still some changes that will kick in before then.
“Intermediate emissions reduction targets for 2030 are set at 55% for cars and 50% for vans,” apress releaseconfirms. That means that new cars and vans sold from 2030 will have to reach those figures in terms of the reduction of emissions compared to their 2021 levels.TechCrunchnotes that the previous 2023 emissions target for new cars sold was set at 37.5%.
“These targets create clarity for the car industry and stimulate innovation and investments for car manufacturers,” Member of the European Parliament Jan Huitema said via the same press release. “Purchasing and driving zero-emission cars will become cheaper for consumers and a second-hand market will emerge more quickly. It makes sustainable driving accessible to everyone.”
Some carmakers have already started their own initiatives to move away from traditional combustion engines and towards something more sustainable, however. German companies Audi and VW are among those that have already said they will work to move to an EV-only lineup sooner than the 2035 deadline.
That doesn’t mean that all carmakers are keen to follow suit, however. TechCrunch also notes that French outfit Renault has already made noises about trying to get the deadline extended to around 2040.
The EU says that it will publish a report every two years, starting in 2025, that will “evaluate the progress towards zero-emission road mobility.”
