The future of the internal combustion engine is turning into a Franco-German war.
Ednews reports citing Politico that an alliance of car-friendly countries led by Germany on Monday dialed up the temperature in a fight against EU legislation that would consign the engine to the scrapheap as part of landmark efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions from transport.
Following a meeting in Strasbourg, key ministers from a gang of car-loving countries said rules ending the sale of new combustion-engine cars and vans by 2035 — already accepted by the European Parliament and agreed in principle by member countries — needed changes. Or else.
"There is no [European Commission] proposal that corresponds to what we expect, and that is why we have not yet reached our goal," German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said after the meeting,
But France isn't planning to surrender.
Paris signalled it will stand behind the EU's 2035 zero emissions plan, as has Madrid, putting two of the bloc's largest car countries alongside a group of smaller states already committed to slashing CO2 emissions from passenger cars.