ICE ban

Ethiopia spent nearly $6 billion to import fossil fuels last year — with more than half of that spending going to fuel vehicles. In response, Ethiopia’s Transport and Logistics Ministries have announced that automobiles cannot enter Ethiopia, unless they are electric. (!)

On the heels of unveiling the long-awaited all-electric Porsche Macan SUV, the company’s chief financial officer Lutz Meschke delivered what could be some dreary news, if it happens: He said that Europe’s plan to ban ICE vehicles by 2035 may get pushed back due to a slowing EV demand, reports Automotive News Europe. 

VW brand chief Thomas Schäfer said that recent discussion over an e-fuel exception to EU’s 2035 gas car ban is “unnecessary noise” and that “by 2035 [combustion engines] are over anyway,” in a recent interview with Automotive News Europe.

Following talks that carried late into Friday evening, representatives from both the EU and member state Germany have relayed that an agreement has been reached in the proposed 2035 ban of new combustion vehicle sales that will now include exceptions for e-fuels. After 2035, some combustion vehicles can still be sold, as long as they run entirely on carbon-neutral fuel alternatives.

According to a draft proposal recently seen by the media, the European Commission has reportedly added an amendment to its 2035 combustion vehicle ban that allows for the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles after the expiry, as long as they run entirely on climate-neutral e-fuels. This move is the latest chapter in a saga to ban ICE vehicles in the EU that has recently been stifled by countries insisting on the additional e-fuel exceptions, led by automotive juggernaut, Germany.

Following a meeting amongst transport ministers from several EU countries on Monday, Germany has now formed an alliance with Italy and additional territories in Eastern Europe in opposing the commission’s proposed ban on combustion cars by 2035 until exemptions are added for vehicles propelled entirely by carbon-neutral e-fuels. The saga continues.

The saga of getting the EU’s proposed ban on sales of new combustion cars by 2035 continues, and more details are in limbo than ever. Following Germany’s abrupt opposition to the ban ahead of its final vote (a mere formality) last week, the EU Commission has declared plans to include a role for e-fuels in the future with hopes it will be enough to regain Germany’s blessing. Here’s the latest.

Germany has unexpectedly objected to the EU’s planned vote to officially ban combustion vehicles by 2035, questioning its support for the law and how it will affect the industry, particularly by not properly explaining how the use of e-fuels will be regulated.

In a bid to clean up the city and reduce the chokehold of traffic congestion, Paris plans to ban cars from much of the historic part of the French capital.

During IAA Mobility in Munich this week, an executive for Renault Group stated plans to seek an extension of the recently proposed 2035 ban of all internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales in the EU. According to the report, Renault wants an extension to around 2040 in order to provide more affordable cars to consumers before more expensive EVs become mandatory.