European supercar manufacturers exempt from stricter CO2 targets until 2035

Last week, the European Union agreed to move forward with their proposal to ban the sale of new internal combustion powered vehicles from 2035 but have agreed to give low volume manufacturers some leeway.

Five nations came forward to oppose strict CO2 emissions targets where carmakers would have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2030.

One of those nations was Italy, home of supercar manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Fortunately, a deal was struck by environment ministers of the EU member states to allow carmakers that sell less than 10,000 cars or 22,000 vans a year to avoid having to meet the aforementioned emissions targets by 2030.

That means the likes of Ferrari will only have to worry about the overall ban on new combustion engine sales that will come into effect in 2035.

However, Germany called on the commission to allow vehicles to run exclusively on carbon-neutral fuels after 2035.

Supporters of eFuel have until 2026 to prove the fuel’s effectiveness in meeting the EU’s emission targets. 

The exemption is good news for the ICE in which we hope gets a fitting send off by some of the pioneers of petrol-engine technology before 2035.