The EU is celebrating the supposed end of the combustion engine ban as a breakthrough. In reality, this decision is a sham. The combustion engine ban, the stricter fleet targets, new rules for company cars, and the emphasis on e-fuels remain key control instruments. The impression of relief is deceptive. The measure primarily serves to appease, not to correct the situation.
The Deceptive Packaging of the New Regulations
Officially, the EU is refraining from an outright ban. But the design feels like a sham. The new fleet targets demand a CO₂ reduction that is practically unattainable. These emissions targets leave manufacturers no economic leeway. A viable range of combustion engine vehicles thus becomes impossible, even without an explicit ban.
The ban on combustion engines disappears from the legal text, but lives on as a de facto sales ban for combustion engines. The industry faces a choice between fines or withdrawal. This is not a market mechanism, but regulatory coercion.
Fleet targets replace the ban
The EU is shifting the leverage. Instead of clear rules, it is using complex fleet targets. These emissions targets are more restrictive than previous limits. Even slight deviations jeopardize the profitability of entire model series. Manufacturers are reacting rationally. They are phasing out combustion engines.
Thus, the combustion engine ban remains in effect. The measure appears to be yet another deceptive measure because it circumvents political resistance and obscures responsibility.
Company cars as a silent accelerator
The new regulations for company cars are particularly effective. In many countries, company cars dominate the new car market. If they are unilaterally focused on electric models, the supply of combustion engine vehicles quickly dries up. The used car market follows suit with a time lag.
Here, too, the deception is evident. There is no need for an explicit ban on combustion engines if company cars are effectively only subsidized or registered as electric vehicles. The effect is identical, but less politically vulnerable.
E-fuels as a political backdrop
The EU likes to point to e-fuels. But synthetic fuels are neither available in sufficient quantities nor at viable prices. They compete with industries that have no alternative. For the passenger car market, they remain a fringe solution.
The reference to e-fuels is part of a deceptive package. It signals openness without creating any real options. The combustion engine ban is thus rhetorically downplayed, but practically secured.
A deceptive package for appeasement
The overall picture is clear. The EU is replacing clear bans with a web of fleet targets, rules for company cars, and symbolic references to e-fuels. This construct is a deceptive package with a political purpose. It is intended to minimize resistance, not to change course.
The conflict is defused, but the direction remains the same. The combustion engine ban continues to have an effect, just more subtly. The decision is less a change of course than a strategic deception.
Conclusion
The EU talks about flexibility, but delivers coercion. The measures are not a relief, but rather a change in packaging. A closer look reveals the deception. The combustion engine is to disappear. Not openly, but through regulation. (KOB)