Combustion engines will be phased out in 2035: just don't cancel!

Good news for European consumers: Anyone who needs their own car has more and more choice in the more climate-friendly electric car segment - also comparatively cheaply. At the end of 2026, 16 electric models will be available on the European market for less than 25,000 euros, twice as many as in the previous year, calculates the Brussels NGO Transport & Environment. Of course, there are also more expensive vehicles, with a total of 150 electric models.

We owe this to the climate regulations for car manufacturers who want to sell cars on the European market, argue the transport experts. These days, this can really only be achieved if you sell enough electric cars - not just through slight improvements in the combustion engine segment.

According to Transport & Environment, all European car manufacturers are expected to meet the 2025 to 2027 targets. Wait a minute: perhaps the corporations, most of which have just conjured up certain doom if the current rules were to be implemented? And those who are still working together with conservatives and the extreme right to further weaken the European phase-out of combustion engines in 2035?

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

The lament is partly understandable: If Volkswagen, BMW or Mercedes sell their electric cars, an enormous part of the revenue does not stay in Wolfsburg, Munich and Stuttgart. China controls almost the entire value chain. This begins with the mining of raw materials such as lithium, continues with their refining, with the production of cathodes and anodes and ends with the production of the entire battery.

Is the right answer to cancel the combustion engine phase-out? Of course not. This would further fuel the climate crisis and thus put lives at risk. Instead, the EU, its member states and the car companies should do everything they can to become independent of China when it comes to electric cars. This is finally starting to happen. For example, BMW has been building its own high-voltage batteries in Irlbach, Bavaria, since the beginning of October - in two-shift operation due to the high demand.