Motoring industry experts are calling for European Union regulations to make changes that could see petrol and diesel cars remain on the roads for years to come.
Germany's automotive industry association, VDA, has proposed a significant change to EU rules that would effectively reverse the planned 2035 ban on new combustion engine vehicles.
The association's unpublished 10-point plan, seen by Table Media and Politico, calls for reducing emissions by 90 per cent rather than achieving zero emissions by 2035.
This would permit "a limited number of new combustion engines" to be registered after the deadline, according to VDA head Hildegard Müller.
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The new calls look to amend EU terms around the future of combustion engines
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She suggested that remaining emissions could be offset through "more ambitious targets for renewable fuels", with many in Europe supporting the use of so-called e-fuels.
The proposal aligns with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives' pre-election stance, though the policy was excluded from their coalition agreement with the Social Democrats.
Tiemo Wölken, environmental policy spokesperson in the EU Parliament for the Social Democrats, told Table Media that the VDA's suggestions would be "taking an axe to any planning and investment security for companies".
Despite this, environmental groups have issued stark warnings about the potential consequences of allowing petrol and diesel cars to remain.
One such group, Transport & Environment, calculated that implementing the VDA's plans could result in between 500 and 1,400 million tonnes of avoidable CO2 emissions.
The campaign organisation dismissed the proposal as "not a serious proposal, but a ploy to make a later weakening of the EU fleet limits appear to be a compromise".
The VDA justified its position by citing disappointing electric vehicle sales figures from the previous year.
The association's draft paper states that "in many European countries, there is a lack of charging points, modern electricity grids and purchase incentives like tax incentives," according to Politico.
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The lobby group argued that demand for electric vehicles remains "well below what would be necessary to achieve climate targets".
The VDA insisted: "The end of the combustion engine cannot be realised in this way; we need to take an honest look at the realities and framework conditions."
The association wants fleet limits adjusted to ensure "development and production of combustion engines in which we are technological leaders could be kept in Europe".
Environmental think tank Agora Verkehrswende cautioned that adopting the VDA's proposals would "lead to a considerable slowdown in the electrification process" at a critical time.
BYD is the best-selling Chinese automotive manufacturer in the UK and could soon overtake Tesla
BYDThe think tank's senior associate Carl-Friedrich Elmer told Table Media this would put "climate targets and the long-term competitiveness of German industry at risk".
Transport & Environment warned the proposals would cement China's lead in electric vehicles and "endanger thousands of jobs" across the continent.
Major manufacturers, including BYD, are already making significant headway into the established Western automotive market.
In the UK, BYD is just 200 sales of new cars behind industry giant Tesla, with Chinese electric vehicles gaining popularity thanks to lower upfront costs and the latest in-car technology.
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