Multiple nations have written to the European Commission asking for a softer version of the current plan to completely phase out combustion engines by 2035.
The letters, seen in reporting by Reuters, come from the member nations of Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, and join the voices from within the auto industry already calling for changes to the phase out.
As it stands currently, the EC has implemented that there will be a ban on combustion engines in all new vehicles by 2035, with a focus on pivoting to electric vehicles and hybrids instead.
However, concerns have been raised over job losses and EV sales starting to slow across the world, and are echoed again in these latest letters.
The key request of the letters is for permission to continue selling combustion engine vehicles past the deadline, along with a shift to low-carbon and renewable fuels in the effort to reduce emissions.
"We can and we must pursue our climate goal in an effective way, while not killing our competitiveness in the meanwhile since there is nothing green in an industrial desert," the letter read.
A package of measures to support the European auto industry was already expected to be published this week, but could now face delays.
