No comeback for combustion engine, EU car industry says

BRUSSELS: The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) is not planning for a comeback of the combustion engine in the future, ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries told dpa on Thursday.

In fact, despite furious political rows in Germany, de Vries believes the return of the combustion engine is now the "wrong question to focus on."

According to current legislation, no new cars with combustion engines will be allowed to be registered in the European Union from 2035 - with very few exceptions except for emergency vehicles for example.

In the German coalition government, the pro-business Free Democrats Party (FDP) is campaigning for future combustion engine cars to be permitted if they run on climate-neutral synthetic fuels (e-fuels).

The centre-right Christian Social Union (CSU) party meanwhile is calling for combustion engines to continue to be authorized at an EU regulatory level.

Even if the law remains the same, de Vries believes that combustion engines will still be used around the world "because it's a formidable technology."

"I think the challenge for Europe is to keep a stake in that," de Vries said, underlining the potential to improve fuel economy and environmental standards.

The cancellation of a federal government subsidy in Germany last year caused demand for battery-powered electric vehilces to collapse, prompting warnings of job losses as manufacturing plants are not being used to capacity.

There is also the subsequent threat of high fines in Europe for car manufacturers due to the pending stricter EU fleet targets for CO2 emissions from 2025.

The German car industry has called for the forthcoming tightening of fleet targets to be reviewed.

De Vries said the EU is in an "existential situation," and called for greater cooperation between industry and policy makers to ensure the viability of automotive manufacturing.