German minister criticizes French 'showdown' over ICE ban

BERLIN -- German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said France had declared a "showdown" in the dispute over the EU's plans to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035.

"It is very regrettable that the French government is declaring a showdown to ban the internal combustion engine," Lindner told the Funke Media Group in an interview published on Friday.

Germany has formed an alliance with Italy and some Eastern European countries opposing the planned phase-out of internal combustion engines unless cars running on e-fuels are exempted from the ban.

Lindner's comments came after France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the EU must stick to the planned ban.

"We cannot say there is a climate emergency but retreat from the transition to electric vehicles," Le Maire said Monday on France Info television. "We are ready to fight on this as it is an environmental mistake and an economic mistake."

Lindner said that by supporting the proposed ban in its current from, France is not fully taking into account that battery-electric cars are more expensive than ICE cars. This will make mobility less affordable for many people after combustion cars are banned, he said.

Lindner said Le Maire "knows full well that car mobility could become more and more expensive for many hard-working people. We must take these concerns seriously."

'Inconsistent messages'

Le Maire said that Europe was five to 10 years behind China in developing EVs, and needed to avoid sending inconsistent messages to automakers, including French companies such as Renault and Stellantis.

"Saying we will go toward electric but remain a little with combustion is economically incoherent and dangerous for industry," Le Maire said. "It’s not in our national interest, it’s not in the interest of carmakers, and it's not in the planet’s interest."

Porsche and VW Group have invested in e-fuel development. The fuels are hydrolized from water and carbon dioxide in a process that can use only sustainable energy – but in very large amounts that critics say could be better used elsewhere. E-fuels are also prohibitively expensive at this stage, although proponents say the cost will come down with scale.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume sees e-fuels as a carbon-free way of driving combustion engine cars such as its iconic 911 in the future.

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report