Spectacular electric car sales weaken pressure for lower CO2 standards, EU climate chief says
Spectacular electric car sales weaken pressure for lower CO2 standards, EU climate chief says
ReutersThu, June 25, 2026 at 8:32 AM UTC
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FILE PHOTO: BYD Dolphin Surf electric cars are parked infront of the venue where BYD carmaker holds a vehicle presentation event in Berlin, Germany May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
LUXEMBOURG, June 25 (Reuters) - A spectacular rise in electric car sales in Europe has shifted some countries away from advocating for weaker rules for the future sales of combustion engine cars, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said on Thursday.
"Some have indeed been saying, both member states and the European Parliament, 'isn't this a sign that the status quo was already good enough?'," Hoekstra said before a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg, referring to a previous target requiring a 100% cut in CO2 emissions from cars by 2035.
The EU Commission late last year dropped that effective ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035 after pressure from the region's auto sector, changing the target to a 90% reduction.
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Hoekstra said he still preferred the new proposal, but also said the rising sales of electric cars were "very helpful."
"Electric vehicle sales, particularly in the three largest markets, but also secondhand (are) truly very impressive, with tens of percentages more than in the year before," Hoekstra said.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, writing by Bart Meijer; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Source: “AOL Money”
