From 2035, Europe Will Ban Gas-powered Vehicle Sales

The illustrious history of Mercedes-Benz will be energized The internal combustion engine will eventually be phased out, and California and Europe are now setting the pace. The European Parliament decided to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles, including hybrids, by 2035. European legislators have approved a bill that would prohibit the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines after a 15-month debate that involved extensive negotiations with venerable German, French, or Italian companies. Similar to California's recently approved regulation, the restriction on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles will begin in 2035 and apply to both cars and commercial vans. The new European mandate, which "sends a strong signal to industry and consumers: Europe is embracing the shift to zero-emission mobility," according to the head of the Green Deal initiative Timmermans, sounds the death knell for the internal combustion engine, which has powered vehicles there for almost 150 years. Late on Thursday night, after four hours of negotiations, the European Commission was able to pass its plan, effectively setting all the illustrious automakers from the Old Continent on a very aggressive course toward change. Until intense pushback from Italian performance sports car manufacturers or the French, who intended to continue selling plug-in hybrids after 2035 as well, they would now have to entirely rebuild their range in the space of just over ten years. Germany, whose bread-and-butter automobile industry employs millions of people, has proven to be the most difficult country to convince, but the mandate was surprisingly simple to prepare for and pass. Despite the enormous obstacles that lie ahead, the European Commission was able to win with relative ease because of a dispute among the German major parties. Many contend that the schedule is overly aggressive, even though the phase-out of gas-powered vehicles will be gradual and have deadlines every step of the way. Furthermore, even if only Europe abandons the internal combustion engine by 2035, this will not significantly reduce global transportation emissions because, after that time, these engines may still be widely used in non-EU nations. Another issue is the development of ultrafast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles as well as the disposition of millions of obsolete vehicles that no one will be willing to purchase. Others counter that China, which has a considerably more advanced EV and battery manufacturing sector than anybody else, and whose businesses are already making inroads into the European market, may ultimately gain from the decision.