The European Union in 2023, plied a strict ban on the sale of internal combustion engine cars post 2035. Manufacturers put all their resources into EV development and at the time, EVs were growing in trend. Since then, EV demand has fallen down a cliff and manufacturers are rushing back to save the combustion engines.
The EV revolution is inevitable but it is not in the near future. Sales have dipped quite a bit and BMW’s CEO told Reuters that European Union should lift their internal combustion engine ban in order to save the industry. Currently a lot of the dependency for batteries lies on the Chinese.
The demand for new EV vehicles skyrocketed in 2020 with a growing trend. Manufacturers pushed out EV versions of their popular models to capture the market. Some models were revived back as EV only variations and a lot of manufacturers planned to turn all EV by 2030, but a lack of development in the EV charging sector and the high ownership cost of vehicles called for a decline in sales soon after. Many manufacturers who were going to go full EV have already backtracked their ambitions and instead been investing in creating the new generation of internal combustion engine including the likes of Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen Group and even Volvo.
This is not the first time that the rule to ban ICE vehicles has been opposed. The German government formed an alliance with 7 other nations to oppose the ban but a middle ground was met where cars functioning on synthetic or carbon neutral fuels were exempted. The Environment and Energy Security Minister of Italy, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin also said that the ban must be changed.
“A correction of the 100 percent BEV target for 2035 as part of a comprehensive CO2-reduction package would also afford European OEMs less reliance on China for batteries,” said Zipse at the Paris Motor Show, per Reuters. “To maintain the successful course, a strictly technology-agnostic path within the policy framework is essential.”
There have been a lot of talk in the industry over electric vehicles. People have lost interest in the EV technology over the years as the development has been quite slow. Many legacy manufacturers are struggling and even Tesla which was at the forefront of the EV technology was seen struggling in 2024 with car sales.
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