(Bloomberg) — French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the European Union must stick to a plan to ban new combustion-engine cars by 2035, pushing back against threats from Germany and Italy to block the change.
(Bloomberg) — French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the European Union must stick to a plan to ban new combustion-engine cars by 2035, pushing back against threats from Germany and Italy to block the change.
“We can’t say there is a climate emergency but retreat from the transition to electric vehicles,” Le Maire said Monday on France Info television. “We are ready to fight on this as it is an environmental mistake and an economic mistake.”
Germany and Italy raised objections to the ban just days before a scheduled vote, demanding a carveout for engines fueled by synthetic electrofuels, or e-fuels, delaying a decision indefinitely. The European Commission has offered some assurances over e-fuels, but it isn’t yet clear whether they will bridge the impasse.
The French minister said Europe is five-to-ten years behind China in developing electric cars and must avoid sending inconsistent messages to automakers including France’s Stellantis NV and Renault SA.
“Saying we’ll go toward electric but remain a little with combustion is economically incoherent and dangerous for industry,” Le Maire said. “It’s not in our national interest, it’s not in the interest of carmakers, and it’s not in the planet’s interest.”
–With assistance from John Ainger.
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