Overview
- In a joint letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italy and Germany urged an immediate change of course, calling to halt the "all‑electric" approach embedded in the 2035 policy.
- Eurostat reported that 55% of the European Union’s electric‑car imports in 2024 came from China, with South Korea at 16% and Japan and the United States at 9% each, alongside €42.4 billion in EV and hybrid imports versus €57.3 billion in exports.
- More than 200 CEOs from the electric‑mobility sector, including leaders from Volvo, A2A, Erg and Uber, appealed to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz not to backtrack on the planned 2035 combustion‑vehicle sales ban.
- Merz has said the ban should be modified in its current form and is expected to meet German automotive leaders this week, reflecting a widening political rift over the phaseout.
- EU officials are preparing an impact assessment and Parliament debate ahead of a year‑end review that could consider technology‑neutral paths, including e‑fuels, hydrogen and certain hybrid solutions.