The European Commission wants new cars and vans sold in 2035 to emit 90% less CO2 than in 2021, instead of the 100% cut written into law in 2023, and it would let automakers cover the last 10% with credits for renewable fuels and EU-made low-carbon steel. Parliament’s environment committee voted on its own version of that proposal on Nov. 4. No version has been adopted, and a committee vote is the first rung of the ladder.
The committee is ENVI, and the file is procedure 2025/0420(COD), with Massimiliano Salini of the European People’s Party as rapporteur, according to Parliament’s procedure file. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement the same day that the agreed text adds some flexibility, but that for passenger cars it is “too limited in scope and duration” to meet industry concerns. ACEA also pointed to more recognition for renewable fuels and low-carbon materials, and said the Council has an important role in what comes next.
I could not confirm the committee’s vote tally or the exact 2035 figure in its text. The procedure file I read recorded no committee vote, and I found no Parliament press release on the vote. Anything said about the committee’s 2035 number beyond ACEA’s description is unconfirmed. The same file lists a plenary first reading as indicative for Nov. 23, and describes that date as a forecast.
How the 90% target and the credits work
The Commission’s text, COM(2025)995 of Dec. 16, 2025, keeps the 2030 car target at a 55% cut from 2021 and lowers the 2030 van target from 50% to 40%. Compliance for 2030 through 2032 would be averaged over the three years. Until 2034, small EU-built zero-emission vehicles would count as 1.3 cars each in the fleet average, according to the Legislative Train summary.
The credits are where 2035 gets complicated. Renewable-fuel credits could reduce a maker’s average emissions by at most 3% of the 2021 target, and fuels made from used cooking oil and certain animal fats are capped at 1%. Low-carbon steel credits are capped at 7%, and the two together cannot cover more than 10%. The Auto Wire’s arithmetic: because fuel credits top out at 3 points, a manufacturer would have to use the steel allowance in full to close the whole 10-point gap. Whatever is left costs a premium of €95 multiplied by the emissions gap and the number of vehicles registered.
A tailpipe test measures what leaves the exhaust. It cannot tell whether the fuel in the tank was renewable or whether the body-in-white came from a low-carbon mill, so both credits are paperwork layered on top of the measurement. The steel credit has a further wrinkle: the Council’s June progress report says its methodology would be set in a delegated act under the Ecodesign Regulation and is tied to “Made in the EU” rules and the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act, which the report calls still at an early stage. The largest credit in the package therefore depends on rules that do not exist yet.
Member states are still split
The same Council report shows delegations pulling in different directions. Some back 90% with compensation, some want it unconditional or lower, and others want to keep 100% and doubt that credits deliver the same reductions. Fuel credits draw the sharpest objections: opponents argue they bring no additional reductions and could divert fuel from aviation and maritime use, while supporters want them broader or earlier. I found no published Council negotiating position.
Pressure for a softer 2035 has been building for a year. The Legislative Train notes a letter from Germany and Italy on Oct. 7, 2025 asking that efficient combustion engines stay eligible after 2035, and a Dec. 5, 2025 request from Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia to allow hybrid sales beyond 2035. Against that sits the current law, Regulation (EU) 2023/851, which Parliament backed in 2022 by 339 votes to 249 with 24 abstentions and the Council adopted on March 28, 2023, according to the earlier file.
What buyers and suppliers should watch
Nothing changes at a European dealer this month; the 2035 target applies to the fleet a maker registers that year, and the current 100% rule stays in force until a new regulation replaces it. The package would also replace the 1999 car labelling directive with a harmonised label that covers electric consumption and range, extends to second-hand cars and vans, and adds a QR code.
The industry is already restructuring around a smaller engine business. Schaeffler is closing five European sites as its engine business shrinks, and Britain is reviewing its own EV sales mandate. For Brussels, the dates to track are the plenary vote, the Council’s position, and whether the steel methodology gets written before automakers have to plan around it.
Should the EU hold the 2035 line at 100%, or is a 90% target backed by capped credits the more honest rule?