Max stupid: EU may loosen EV rules for third time in two years, aiding China — SkimNews
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- France and Germany struck a deal to reduce EU auto emissions targets to 80% from 90%, weaken interim milestones, and present the proposal to the EU on October 15, according to Clean Energy Wire
- The EU has now loosened its car rules three times in roughly two years: March 2025 granted automakers "breathing room" on short-term targets, then a subsequent rollback allowed 90% emissions reduction by 2035 instead of 100% with e-fuel credits
- Six EU countries opposed weakening car rules, but the French-German alignment reportedly provides the votes needed to pass the latest rollback
- The UK currently has no tariffs on Chinese EVs, making BEVs its most popular powertrain; the EU is reportedly pushing London to impose tariffs as a condition for joining the "Buy European" agreement
- Europe is leading the world in EV sales growth, undermining the "market conditions" rationale the article says has been used to justify prior rollbacks
- Chinese EV exports continue gaining share in Europe as European automakers cancel models and cut EV investments, per the article
- The article cites a climate-driven summer that killed 35,000 people in Europe, arguing the bloc's original 2035 gas-car phase-out and 55%-by-2030 emissions goal were already minimal responses to a worsening crisis
- The article also notes that high oil prices — driven in part by Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries — make EV adoption more economically rational, not less
Why it matters: European automakers, who lobbied for the rollback, risk falling further behind Chinese rivals who are gaining share without weakening their own EV targets. Three reversals in two years signal to global markets that EU climate rules can be undone under industry pressure, potentially undermining the bloc's leverage in parallel trade talks pushing the UK to tariff Chinese EVs.
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