Mercedes-Benz CEO warns against EU’s 2035 ban on ICE cars

New Delhi: Back in 2021, Mercedes-Benz had said that by the end of the decade, they would be able to stop selling their ICE-powered cars where it was possible. Such was the confidence of the German car maker. However, it seems that they have taken a U-turn from this.

Not only have they dropped their goal, but their head has gone on to say that Europe’s auto industry would be in tatters if they were to follow the policy of removing ICE completely. The brand’s chief executive, Ola Kallenius, during an interaction with German business newspaper Handelsblatt, said that a ban on new combustion engines by 2035 isn’t the right way to move forward.

Kallenius noted that while it was pertinent to go towards "decarbonising” it needs to be in a "technology-neutral” way. 

The Mercedes top boss, who is also the president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), has predicted that not only with the industry collapse, there will be customers pushing towards buying ICE-powered cars before the deadline, which in turn makes no difference to the effects on the climate.

In fact, Kallenius sought the China example, where, unlike Europe, Beijing haven’t given an expiry date for the ICE but pushed for EV adoption through cheaper charging costs and tax breaks. The hybrids and ICE models are still in the market, and the EV adoption has increased. Mercedes-Benz joining the likes of BMW CEO Oliver Zips,e who only last year had said to Bloomberg that the 2035 plan was "unrealistic” will result in a decline of the industry. 

The EU mandate at present wants all new cars to have zero emissions of CO2 from 2035. Existing cars are not affected by this, and even second-hand combustion cars are immune to this. Carmakers can also continue with combustion engines, which can be powered by carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. It is key to Brussels’ climate plan, which aims for carbon zero in the transport area by 2050.

More recently, quite a few cities have introduced charges for cars that are non-compliant with emissions. In EU, the sales of EVs are nowhere close to dominating market share. During the first half of this year, non-combustion engine cars made up for only 17.5 per cent of the overall sales in the EUN countries. ACEA data shows that plug-in hybrids are also only up to 8.7 per cent, while the traditional hybrid accounts for 35 per cent. 

For Mercedes-Benz, there is concern because their EV sales accounted for only 8.4 per cent of the global shipment in the first half of this year, going down from 9.7 per cent last year in the same timeframe. If PHEV is included, it still amounts to 20.1 per cent of total deliveries in the first six months of this year. 

While ICE might be in the trouble zone, it could be that plug-in hybrids and complete hybrids continue even after 2035. What the EU decides, though, can be an example for many other parts of the world as well.