The European Commission will concede flexibilities to carmakers following an “intense” second meeting on Monday, as part of its strategic dialogue with the automotive industry.

EC president Ursula von der Leyen said she will propose a focused amendment to the CO2 Standards regulation this month. Instead of annual compliance, carmakers will have a three-year compliance window to meet the targets without facing penalties.

This year, the target for new cars sold in the EU is 93.6 grams of CO2 per kilometre. From 2030 until 2034, the target is 49.5 gCO2/km. From 2035 onwards, the plan is to sell only zero-emission vehicles.

“The targets stay the same. They have to fulfil the targets, but it means more breathing space for industry. It means also more clarity and without changing the agreed targets,” she explains. “I’m sure that such a targeted amendment could be agreed swiftly with the European Parliament and the Council; because, of course, it only makes sense if agreed quickly.”

Von der Leyen claims the decision strikes a balance between fairness for “first movers – those who did their homework successfully” and pragmatism and technology neutrality for stakeholders facing “difficult times.”

The measure, which still needs to be passed by EU governments and lawmakers, is an “unprecedented gift” to Europe’s car industry, comments campaign group T&E.

“Weakening the EU clean car rules rewards laggards and does little for Europe’s car industry except to leave it further behind China on electric vehicles,” adds Willliam Todts, executive director of T&E and participant in the EU automotive dialogue. “The EU risks creating a very damaging uncertainty about the electric vehicle transition in Europe.”

Chris Heron, secretary general at trade body E-Mobility Europe, estimates the new proposal will risk around 500,000 fewer electric cars entering the EU market in 2025, as targets won’t need to be met in 2025 and 2026.

“That uncertainty is bad news for investors in EU charging infrastructure, battery production, and e-mobility overall,” he says, pointing out the emergence of “big” legal questions. “Changing the rules midway through 2025 is unfair for the automakers that worked to comply with the law in good faith.”

The EC will present its Automotive Action Plan on Wednesday, which von der Leyen said will also focus on prioritising innovation through a push focused primarily on autonomous driving and battery manufacturing.

“We know that global competition is fierce, so we have to act big and have to be big,” she adds. “We will set up and support an industry alliance. Companies will be able to pool resources. They will develop shared software, chips and autonomous driving technology.”

To support the battery industry, the EC intends to gradually introduce European content requirements for cells and components, and continue cutting red tape.

Kallanish has contacted European carmakers association ACEA for comment.