The updated framework maintains a strong push towards electrification, but also reinforces technological neutrality, preserving a role for hydrogen vehicles alongside battery-electric models.

The move, which still requires approval from EU governments and the European Parliament, comes amid mounting pressure from Europe’s carmakers, particularly in Germany and Italy, which have warned that slowing EV demand and rising competition from Chinese manufacturers are straining margins and investment capacity.

As a result, the EU has introduced additional flexibility in how carmakers meet CO2 targets, including allowances beyond 2035 using sustainable fuels and low-carbon materials.

Under the revised rules, manufacturers will be required to achieve a 90% reduction in tailpipe CO2 emissions, rather than a full zero-emission requirement. The remaining 10% can be offset through the use of low-carbon steel produced in the EU, and sustainable fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels.

The original rules required all new cars and vans sold in the EU from 2035 to be zero-emission at the tailpipe.

The bloc’s new approach allows a wider range of powertrains to remain on the market after 2035, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen and e-fuel internal combustion engines (ICE), plug-in hybrids, and range-extender models.

For hydrogen mobility proponents, the package offers renewed regulatory certainty at a time when fuel cell vehicle deployment has struggled to scale, and infrastructure rollout remains uneven across EU member states.

“We want our industries to be the leaders of the transition to a low-carbon economy because that is what is best for our climate, competitiveness and independence,” said Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, added that the package will address priorities discussed with the automotive sector, civil society organisations, and stakeholders.

“As technology rapidly transforms mobility and geopolitics reshapes global competition, Europe remains at the forefront of the global clean transition,” she explained.