With all the current turmoil in the news it was easy to miss a recent announcement by European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, which has major implications for the European Automotive market. 

With EV sales across Europe generally lagging far behind EU targets, she has indicated that European carmakers will now have an extra two years to meet the 2025 pollution target. This means that if a manufacturer sells higher emission vehicles this year, it can off-set this by selling more lower emission vehicles in 2026 and 2027. Although overall targets remain the same, Von der Leyen believes the new rules will give carmakers more “breathing space” to meet the objective. 

The move has been widely criticised by environmental groups who argue it will delay the adoption of electric vehicles, while car makers have welcomed the added flexibility.   

The announcement will need ratification by EU governments and the European parliament, however, because of pressure from carmakers and their strength in economical terms, this is not expected to be an issue.