Germany to urge EU to soften 2035 ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars

Friedrich Merz to ask for series of exemptions in attempt to protect crisis-hit automotive industry

The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is to urge the EU to soften the 2035 cutoff date for the sale of combustion-engine cars.

Merz said he would send a letter to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday urging Brussels to keep technological options open for carmakers. The sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the EU is scheduled to be banned in a decade’s time.