ENVI text sets 87.5% as EU 2035 car CO2 cut, down from 100%, while UK keeps its 2035 zero-emission goal
The European Parliament's Environment Committee voted 48 to 30 to cut the 2035 car CO2 target to 87.5% from 100%, while UK ministers say their 2035 goal stays.
The European Parliament’s Environment Committee proposed cutting the EU’s 2035 fleet-wide CO2 reduction target for new cars from 100% to 87.5%, voting 48 to 30 with two abstentions on Wednesday 4 November.
The text is a proposal, not law. The Parliament said its negotiating mandate for talks with EU governments is expected at the December 2026 plenary session.
For cars, manufacturers would need to compensate for emissions capped at 7.5% of the 2021 EU fleet-wide reference target. The aim is to reach a 95% target using credits for low-carbon steel produced in the EU.
Until the end of 2034, those steel credits could contribute no more than 3% towards compliance for cars or vans.
The Commission’s December 2025 proposal would have cut the 2035 target to 90%, the Department for Transport’s consultation on the UK mandate said. The DfT noted that the package remained subject to Parliament and Council agreement.
For vans, the committee backs an 80% reduction in 2035, down from 100%, with steel credits under a 7.5% cap. Its 2030 van target is 35%, against 40% in the Commission’s proposal and 50% under current rules.
Rapporteur Massimiliano Salini (EPP, Italy) said: “Registering combustion engine cars without compensation obligations would remain possible, protecting technological freedom and restoring prospects for the entire supply chain.”
The draft also adds multipliers for EU-built electric vehicles. A small EV up to 4.2 metres long would count as 1.4 vehicles, and a highly efficient one as 1.2. Social leasing adds 0.1 to each, giving 1.5 and 1.3.
European carmakers’ trade body ACEA welcomed what it described as a “pragmatic approach”, This Is Money reported.
The UK works differently. Its zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate sets the share of new car sales that must be zero emission, not a cut in fleet CO2, and it is a separate piece of regulation.
The legislated car targets rise from 38% in 2027 to 52% in 2028, 66% in 2029 and 80% in 2030, with an indicative 100% in 2035. In 2025, 22.8% of new UK car registrations were zero emission, the DfT said.
The consultation, which closed on 23 October, set out an option with 50% ZEV sales in 2030 and 100% in 2035. The DfT said any amendments “will not change the destination”.
Ministers also say they will not amend the commitment to end sales of new purely petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The EU text, by contrast, sets 2035 at 87.5% rather than 100%.
The DfT also recorded that UK industry has raised concerns about the impact of the EU’s “Made in Europe” proposals if it were excluded from these credits.
The Climate Change Committee has stated that further weakening of the ZEV mandate could put government climate change targets at risk, the DfT’s document records. The four UK administrations will respond to the consultation “in due course”.
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