Germany still discussing vote on planned EU combustion engine car ban

BERLIN -- The German government is still discussing its voting behaviour on European Union plans to effectively ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, a German government spokesperson said.

The comments come after Christian Lindner, the country’s finance minister and vice chancellor, said on Tuesday that Europe’s biggest car market would not agree to the ban, adding that there would continue to be niches for combustion engines after this date.

Lindner is a member of the pro-business Free Democrats, which shares power with the Social Democrats and Greens.

In its bid to cut planet-warming emissions by 55 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed a 100 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035. That means it would be impossible to sell combustion engine cars from then.

European Parliament lawmakers backed the proposals this month, before negotiations with EU countries on the final law take place.