The European Union will soften its initial plan to ban the sale of new cars and other internal combustion engine vehicles from 2035, a shift with significant consequences not only for Europe, but also for the global automotive industry, including Turkey. The European car industry had long been lobbying Brussels to relax the restrictions, and this decision directly impacts the Turkish car industry, which exports around 80% of its production to the EU market.
In 2023, despite German opposition, the European Commission announced that sales of new cars with combustion engines would be banned from 2035. The measure also included hybrid models, which combine an internal combustion engine and battery. Although that announcement envisaged a review of the measure in 2026, growing pressure from manufacturers and national governments has led the Commission to bring the review forward to the end of 2025.
In particular, car manufacturers were demanding to maintain the authorisation to sell plug-in hybrids and vehicles with range extenders, small combustion engines designed to recharge the battery and not to directly drive the wheels. This position is supported by Germany, but also by several Eastern European countries, where the car industry is a major contributor to the economy and employment.
Finally, several international media have confirmed what was already advanced last week by Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People’s Party (the largest party in the European Parliament), who announced that the EU will implement a 90% reduction of CO₂ emissions in the car sector by this deadline. In practice, this will allow combustion engines to continue to be allowed in Europe beyond 2035, allowing new European cars sold after that year to emit up to 10% of the emissions recorded in 2021.
Thermal technologies allowed from 2035 in the EU
This apparently subtle change represents a very significant adjustment in the European climate strategy, motivated by the delicate situation of the European automobile sector, the loss of competitiveness vis-à-vis Chinese brands and the growing difficulty for large sections of the population to access a new vehicle due to rising prices. The aim is not, in any case, to return to the current model, but to establish a more flexible transition by extending the life of combustion engines, albeit with significant limitations.
The aim now is for the electric car to remain in the majority, but without completely driving the combustion engine out of the market, especially in segments where full electrification faces major technical or economic obstacles. Under this new premise, the European Commission would authorise from 2035 the use of technologies capable of significantly reducing emissions without the need for them to be 100% electric, among them:
- Plug-in hybrids with greater electric range.
- Electric vehicles with range extenders.
- Combustion engines that allow the use of biofuels or synthetic fuels (e-fuels).
- Other high-efficiency thermal solutions.
Impact on the Turkish automotive industry
Turkey exports around 80% of its car production to the EU. A relaxation of the 2035 limit extends the export horizon for combustion and hybrid models manufactured in the Turkish automotive industry, and will allow major international brands with plants in Türkiye to plan the electric transition more gradually, reducing the risk of abrupt closure of thermal engine production lines.
The automotive sector generates direct and indirect employment for hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey. A slower shift away from internal combustion in the European Union alleviates the short and medium-term pressure on employment in the Eurasian country. Moreover, as Turkey aligns its technical and emission standards with EU legislation, a softening of the 2035 ban by Brussels leaves more room for Turkey to make its own transition in a more realistic and phased manner.
Finally, this greater flexibility in the EU allows the supply of petrol and hybrid vehicles to be maintained for longer in the Turkish market, where electric vehicles – including extended-range vehicles – currently account for only 17.8% of total sales in Turkey, according to the most recent data published in local media, despite being one of the fastest growing countries in terms of 100% electric car sales.
In the first eleven months of 2025, petrol combustion car sales in Turkey fell from 62% of the total in 2024 to just 47.2%, while the market share of diesel cars fell from 10.1% to 7.4%. In the same period, however, pure electric cars went from 9.2% to 17.6% of total sales, and hybrids went from 17.4% to 26.9%. Turkish electric brand TOGG led electric car sales between January and November, with 31,715 units sold, beating Tesla (29,955) and Chinese brand BYD (17,639).
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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