The European Union announced on Monday that it has approved the end of sales of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035, AFP reported.

The 27 EU countries have officially joined around 20 other nations or regional blocs that have set specific deadlines for phasing out internal combustion engines, which emit toxic gases and contribute significantly to global warming.

2025 in Norway, the pioneer country

Oslo aims to sell 100% new zero-emission cars – electric and hydrogen – from 2025.

Paradoxically, Norway is the largest producer of hydrocarbons in Western Europe and the most electrified car market in the world: almost four out of five new cars sold in 2022 (79%) were electric.

2030 in Great Britain, Singapore or Israel

Both Singapore and Israel will ban internal combustion engines in 2030.

Britain, one of the cradles of the car industry, plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 as part of a “green industrial revolution” to create jobs.

China early, but no date

China’s electric car industry took off in the 2010s, with hundreds of manufacturers working on new models and generous government subsidies.

The People’s Republic now controls the components and production of the vast majority of electric batteries.

As the world’s biggest polluter and the world’s largest car market, China initially plans to have 20% of its vehicles run on “new energy sources” (electric, hybrid, fuel cell) by 2025. They should become “mainstream” by 2035, according to a document published in late 2020 by the government.

Local initiatives have also proliferated, with several cities banning petrol two-wheelers over the years, and numerous subsidies and low-emission zones (LEZs).

2030 in the USA…but only by 50%…

According to President Joe Biden’s climate plan, by 2030 half of the cars sold in the US must be “zero-emission.” Large subsidies are intended to protect local industry, in particular by repatriating battery production.

However, Washington also includes battery hybrids in this goal, which still have an internal combustion engine but can run tens of kilometers on 100% electricity.

This is a difficult task for Tesla country: sales of pure electric vehicles only started to grow in 2021 and accounted for 5.8% of the market in 2022.

California and New York state have taken the lead by banning the sale of internal combustion engines starting in 2035 (with the exception of plug-in hybrids). Further north, Canada has set the same goal. (photo: Chernetska, Dreamstime.com)