The EU decreed this Thursday the end of new thermal cars in 2035 with a revision clause in 2026. This long-awaited decision had caused the French manufacturers to react at the Paris Motor Show. But for Thierry Breton, European commissioner for the internal market, this decision will only affect the countries of the European Union.
“From 2035 we will only sell electric vehicles in Europe, that does not mean that we have to stop producing thermal engines.”
For the European commissioner, the world is moving towards total electricity, but at different speeds. He takes the example of Africa, where networks are not yet accessible to everyone and everywhere.
“We are going to sell this know-how [thermique, NDLR] to those who need it. The markets are there. In Africa, there is one in two Africans who have unfortunately never seen a light bulb,” says Thierry Breton.
The red carpet in China
It even encourages manufacturers to “continue” the production of heat engines as the Chinese do. “They can do it and we can’t?” he told Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, who accused Europe of rolling out the red carpet for China.
“We must support these markets that will continue to exist with increasingly cleaner engines thanks to the Euro 7 standard that will be presented in a few days,” adds Thierry Breton.
In the meantime, remember that by 2035 we will have to go full throttle to be ready for the transition.
“15 to 20% more electricity will be needed when we are all electric, it must be decarbonized, the terminals will have to be increased, we have 350,000 and 7 million will be needed.”
Source: BFM TV
