The European Commission is set to reshape the landscape of the global auto industry later this year when it agrees on even more stringent carbon emission targets for the next decade that could mark the beginning of the end for traditional combustion-powered vehicles in the world's largest economic bloc.
Experts believe regulators, most likely in the third quarter, could dramatically slash the future amount of greenhouse gases produced by new passenger cars in a bid to reverse rising emissions from the road transport sector in time for the European Union to meet its 2030 target. Brussels has committed to a binding CO2 cut of at least 40 percent on 1990 levels as part of the first global pact to combat climate change signed in Paris. Automakers currently must reduce their CO2 emissions in Europe to 95 grams per kilometer by 2021.