European Parliament environment committee votes Nov 4 to seek easing of EU 2035 car emissions target

On November 4, the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety voted to propose relaxing the EU's 2035 automotive emissions target plan. If the plan is ultimately approved, automakers will no longer need to comply with the mandatory requirement to sell only zero-emission vehicles after 2035. The committee voted to set a vehicle emissions reduction target of 87.5% based on the 2021 benchmark (95 grams of CO2 per kilometer). An analysis by the environmental group Transport & Environment shows that this means after 2035, up to 39% of vehicles on sale could continue to be equipped with internal combustion engines, mainly plug-in hybrids or range-extender models. The European Commission had originally proposed a 90% reduction. This relaxed emissions target is part of a package of automotive policies proposed by the European Commission in December 2025. The environment committee's proposal has received support from the EU's three major political parties. All members of the European Parliament will vote on this automotive policy package in December, and the vote result will form the Parliament's position, after which negotiations will be held with the EU Council, composed of member state governments. The environment committee's emissions proposal also lowered the 2030 emissions reduction target for vans from the 40% proposed by the European Commission to 35%; the 2035 emissions reduction target for vans is set at 80%. Automakers including Stellantis and Renault said the market adoption of electric vans has been slower than expected. Under the proposal, automakers can use green steel produced within the EU to offset an additional 7.5% of emissions allowances, with the offset cap at up to 95%. The 2030 target allows emissions allowances to be averaged. Small pure electric models produced in Europe and high-efficiency European-made electric vehicles of any size can receive super credits: small electric vehicles with a length of ≤4.2 meters can count as 1.4 credits, and high-efficiency electric vehicles count as 1.2 credits. Vehicles using compliant alternative fuels such as biofuels and e-fuels can also be recognized as zero-emission vehicles after 2030. In addition, EU lawmakers are also reviewing the Industrial Accelerator Act, which includes "made in Europe" requirements: pure electric models must meet this condition to be eligible for government and fleet procurement subsidies.