Two in three Germans are against EU’s 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars
Clean Energy Wire
A large majority of Germans believe the EU should abandon its 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. 67 percent said the ban was wrong, an increase of 5 percentage points since the beginning of the year, according to a survey by public broadcaster ARD. Only 28 percent said the ban was the right decision.
EU member states agreed the 2035 phaseout in 2023 after intense discussions, with Germany securing last-minute concessions to allow cars running exclusively on climate-neutral synthetic fuels. However, a draft on these concessions has not yet entered into force. Following months of debate across the EU about improving the competitiveness of the European automotive industry, the European Commission is scheduled to make proposals for policy changes on 10 December.
Germany’s government agreed last week to push the EU to soften the deadline further to allow new registrations of hybrid cars after 2035, citing threats to jobs and industrial competitiveness. The additional emissions could be compensated by using sustainable materials like green steel in the car production, the government argued. As the EU’s largest car market and the home to major manufacturers VW, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, Germany’s position holds significant political weight, but it is not yet clear to what extent the Commission takes its demands into account.
Environmental NGOs warn that weakening the ban would delay the unavoidable shift to electric mobility, undermine climate targets, and leave Europe's carmakers more exposed to Chinese rivals.
72 percent of men and 62 percent of women rejected the ban. Support for the phaseout among adults under 35 is comparatively high at 34 percent, but a majority of 55 percent are also against it.
While 75 percent of people who support chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives said that the ban was wrong, only 54 percent of Social Democrat (SPD) supporters are against it. Only a large majority of Green party supporters (77 percent) and those in favour of the Left Party (61 percent) believed the ban was the right decision.
