EVs central to carmakers’ Europe strategy despite petrol ban easing
Benefits of EU’s proposed rule changes are limited and too costly, say industry executives
Global car executives will continue to place electric vehicles at the centre of their European product strategy after Brussels granted only “very small flexibility” in its revision of the 2035 petrol ban.
“We are on a transition to EVs,” Sjoerd Knipping, chief operating officer of Kia Europe, told the FT in an interview.
The changes in the EU’s regulations “could give us a bit more flexibility here and there, but it doesn’t mean that we are going to turn over our strategy from one day to the next”, he said at the Brussels Motor Show, where the South Korean carmaker unveiled its cheapest and smallest electric car, expected to be priced at less than €30,000.
Last month, Brussels proposed scrapping a law forcing carmakers to cut their emissions to zero by 2035. Although the loosening of the petrol ban sparked fears among environmental groups that carmakers would slow their shift to EVs as in the US, industry executives cautioned that the changes proposed by the EU were limited and too costly to implement.
While carmakers will be allowed to carry on releasing 10 per cent of their 2021 emissions and to continue selling some petrol engines and hybrids, the European Commission has mandated that the emissions be offset by using low-carbon steel and sustainable fuels.
One car executive estimated that the stringent conditions implied that manufacturers would only be allowed to release about 3 per cent of their 2021 emissions.
“Our strategy in terms of product remains the same,” said Bruno Vanel, head of product at Renault. He stressed that the French carmaker would continue developing affordable EVs alongside other options such as hybrids and range-extended EVs using small backup fuel engines.
“The direction is clear towards EVs. That’s for sure. It doesn’t change,” he added.
Antonio Filosa, the chief executive of Stellantis, has sharply criticised the recent proposed changes in EU climate policy, saying Brussels had not gone far enough to revitalise the European car industry which is under pressure from EV transition costs.
Emanuele Cappellano, the new head of the group’s European operations, said more flexibility was needed to provide a wide range of products not only to meet consumer needs but also to maintain production volumes across the continent.
Still, Cappellano said that the company was “not claiming for a comeback to a combustion engine”.
Critics of the EU’s latest easing of the 2035 ban have pointed to the risk of western car manufacturers falling behind Chinese rivals, who have already made significant advances into Europe with more affordable EVs equipped with advanced software.
In 2025, sales of electric cars in Europe rose 31 per cent from a year earlier to a record 2.9mn vehicles, accounting for 24 per cent of the bloc’s new car market, according to research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Among the Chinese brands, Zeekr, the EV unit of Geely, said it would continue to push for expansion of EV offerings in Europe this year.
“It’s obvious that the better technology is EV . . . it’s just that the entire industry needs to accept that and put the right focus and balance on it,” said Lothar Schupet, acting chief executive of Zeekr Europe.