The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety backed a proposal to set a 2035 car emissions-reduction target at 87.5%, giving automakers more compliance options while leaving current law unchanged.
On Wednesday, 48 committee members voted for the draft, 30 against and two abstained. The committee said credits for eligible steel made in the EU could cover emissions up to an amount equal to 7.5% of the 2021 EU fleetwide reference target. It said using the credits could bring the effective reduction to 95%. Through the end of 2034, credits toward specific car and van targets would be capped at 3%.
The proposed van reductions are 35% for 2030 and 80% for 2035. Current rules set the respective reductions at 50% and 100%, while the European Commission’s proposal set a 40% target for vans in 2030. For vans in 2035, the committee would cap steel credits at 7.5%.
Other proposed flexibilities would count vehicles running exclusively on eligible fuels as zero-emission vehicles. In manufacturers’ fleet averages, small electric cars made in the EU and no longer than 4.2 meters would count as 1.4 vehicles. Qualifying, highly efficient electric cars made in the EU would count as 1.2.
Under current EU rules, average emissions from new passenger cars and vans must be cut by 100% beginning Jan. 1, 2035. The European Commission’s December 2025 proposal would instead require a 90% reduction for cars, with the remaining emissions compensated through EU-made low-carbon steel, e-fuels or biofuels.
The committee says its proposed credits and vehicle multipliers would give automakers additional ways to meet targets and encourage EU production of low-carbon steel and qualifying electric cars. Massimiliano Salini, the proposal’s rapporteur, called the agreement “a turning point for the European automotive industry.”
The committee vote does not change the law. The full Parliament must still approve a negotiating mandate, after which Parliament and EU governments would need to agree on the legislation.
