The European Union has weakened its planned 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, retreating from a flagship climate measure as it moved to support an auto industry hit by job cuts, factory closures and fierce global competition.
The change allows carmakers to keep selling a limited number of polluting vehicles after 2035, provided they offset the extra emissions through carbon credits. The original ban, adopted in 2023, required all new cars sold from that date to be zero-emission.
