BMW boss says 'categorical ban' on petrol and diesel cars is 'wrong' amid calls for e-fuel loophole
The BMW boss said more needed to be done to help progress e-fuels
REUTERS/PA
The CEO of BMW has described the decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars as "wrong" as the industry deals with struggling sales of electric vehicles.
Oliver Zipse, chief executive of the German manufacturing giant, has expressed concerns about the blanket ban on new vehicles with internal combustion engines.
At present, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be prohibited from 2035 in the UK and European Union, although these dates could still change.
The EU also has a loophole for the ban which could see petrol and diesel vehicles remain on sale beyond 2035 if they can run on synthetic e-fuels.
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BMW already have a number of electric vehicles on the market
BMWDespite this, Zipse has criticised the EU for not helping the industry develop these fuels to make them widespread across internal combustion engine vehicles.
Speaking at the BMW half-year report conference, he highlighted the need for low-CO2 fuels like "e-fuels, E25 or HVO100", adding that they were needed as quickly as possible.
He said: "These fuels could immediately improve the carbon footprint of the existing fleet of more than 250million vehicles in the EU.
"At the moment, however, we see a significant risk of e-fuels being politically instrumentalised in the debate about the ban on combustion engines from 2035."
Earlier this year, BMW announced that its historic Munich factory in Germany will exclusively produce electric vehicles from 2027 after decades of making petrol and diesel models.
BMW already has several electric vehicles on the UK market, notably the i4, i5 and i7 saloons and coupes, in addition to iX, iX1, iX2 and iX3 SUVs.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) found that in the year-to-date, BMW has registered 74,745 new cars in the UK, capturing 6.48 per cent of the market share.
Zipse continued, saying: "There are currently many indications that the EU Commission is striving for a bogus solution in which the ban on combustion engines is relaxed simply by ostensibly opening up to e-fuels.
"However, if it then does nothing to accelerate the ramp-up of low-CO2 fuels and make their use practicable, this would be a deliberate ban on combustion engines through the back door."
The 60-year-old added: "We continue to believe that a categorical ban on combustion technology is wrong."
Labour is planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, reversing a decision made by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last September.
In the election manifesto, Keir Starmer outlined how Labour wanted to give the industry and drivers around the UK confidence in knowing when they will need to switch to zero emission vehicles.
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Oliver Zipse (L) said a blanket ban on petrol and diesel cars is 'wrong'
PA
A Government spokesperson told GB News that it was committed to delivering greener transport by supporting the transition to electric cars and other zero emission vehicles.
They added that certainty would be provided to manufacturers by restoring the 2030 deadline to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, with an announcement expected to be made "in due course".
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