ENVI backs lower car and van CO₂ targets and zero-emission status for eligible-fuel vehicles

Carmakers would face a lower 2035 emissions reduction target and could count vehicles running exclusively on eligible fuels as zero-emission vehicles under a position adopted by the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. The text would also introduce credits for EU-made low-carbon steel, expand incentives for certain electric vehicles, and ease compliance requirements for van manufacturers.

The committee adopted its position by 48 votes to 30, with two abstentions. The proposed changes form part of the EU automotive package and would substantially alter the framework governing manufacturers’ fleet emissions. Parliament’s negotiating mandate is expected to be put to a plenary vote in December.

For passenger cars, the committee proposes reducing the 2035 fleet-wide CO₂ reduction target from 100% under existing legislation to 87.5%, below the Commission’s proposed 90%. Manufacturers would have to compensate for a further 7.5 percentage points through credits for low-carbon steel made in the EU, bringing the combined reduction and compensation requirement to 95% and leaving 5% uncompensated.

Van manufacturers would receive greater flexibility. Their 2030 reduction target would fall to 35%, compared with the Commission’s proposed 40% and the existing 50% requirement. The 2035 target would fall from 100% to 80%. Steel credits could contribute towards compliance, subject to a cap equivalent to 7.5% of the 2021 EU fleet-wide reference target, without the separate requirement applying to cars to reach 95%.

The compromise would also change the treatment of combustion-engine vehicles running exclusively on qualifying alternative fuels. From 2030, these vehicles would be assigned emissions of 0 g CO₂/km for compliance purposes, bringing them within the regulation’s definition of zero-emission vehicles. That classification would concern their regulatory treatment, rather than mean that they produce no CO₂ at the exhaust.

Until the end of 2032, eligible fuels would encompass fuels defined under the Renewable Energy Directive that meet a 65% greenhouse gas emissions-saving threshold. From 2033, eligibility would narrow to qualifying renewable fuels of non-biological origin, and biofuels and biogas produced from feedstocks listed in a new annex.

Fuel exclusivity would have to apply throughout a vehicle’s lifetime. The Commission would be required to establish type-approval provisions within six months of the amended regulation entering into force, combining digital monitoring with physical incompatibility with non-eligible fuels. Monitoring would need to identify non-compliant fuels or blends at each refuelling event, while accompanying provisions would address controls, penalties, engine conversion, and travel outside the EU. The compromise deletes the Commission’s proposed fuel-credit mechanism in favour of the dedicated vehicle category.

Low-carbon steel credits would become available before 2035. From entry into force until the end of 2034, their contribution would be capped at 3% of the 2021 fleet-wide reference target, rising to 7.5% thereafter. To qualify as EU-made, the steel would have to have been originally melted and poured in the Union.

Electric vehicle incentives would differentiate between vehicle size, efficiency, use, and production location. EU-made electric cars no longer than 4.2 metres would count as 1.4 vehicles when calculating manufacturers’ average emissions, while highly efficient EU-made electric cars meeting specified energy-consumption thresholds would count as 1.2. Registration under a social leasing scheme would increase those multipliers to 1.5 and 1.3, respectively.

EU-made pure electric vans would count as 1.2 vehicles until the end of 2034 and 1.4 from 2035. Vehicles running exclusively on eligible fuels would not qualify for these super credits.

The compromise also provides conditional relief for EU-made plug-in hybrids. Until the end of 2029, qualifying vehicles would face no further tightening of their utility factor beyond the level established in 2025. That factor determines the assumed share of electric driving used in calculating official emissions.

Eligibility would require at least 120 km of electric range and a system reducing available power where the vehicle had not been charged over the preceding 750 km, subject to safety safeguards. From 2030, the utility factor would be updated annually using observed real-world data, with manufacturers’ fleet emissions adjusted retrospectively.

Compliance periods would also change. Passenger cars would retain averaging over 2025–2027, with the subsequent period shifted to 2029–2031 and a banking mechanism for 2029 capped at 8 g CO₂/km. Vans would receive five-year averaging periods covering 2025–2029 and 2030–2034.

Rapporteur Massimiliano Salini, an Italian EPP member, said the agreement would preserve scope for combustion-engine registrations and recognise renewable-fuel vehicles alongside electric vehicles. The committee position remains subject to Parliament’s plenary decision and subsequent negotiations with member states.

Cycling groups criticise weaker company bike provisions in corporate fleet compromise

Cycling provisions have been weakened in the European Parliament’s committee compromise on the proposed Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation, according to European Cycling Industries and the European Cyclists’ Federation, which want company bike schemes explicitly recognised in national implementation plans.

The organisations said the Environment and Transport Committees’ vote retained a recital acknowledging e-bikes and cargo bikes but removed cycling provisions from the operative articles. References to company bike leasing for employee mobility were also dropped, leaving the recital focused on urban logistics.

The groups contrasted the compromise with the draft report presented in May by S&D members François Kalfon and Tiemo Wölken. In their assessment, the revised wording recognises only part of cycling’s contribution to corporate mobility and provides insufficient support for member states seeking to encourage alternatives to company cars and vans.

They want the legislation to enable national authorities to account for company bike and cargo bike support schemes in the implementation plans submitted to the Commission. Their proposed approach would cover both deliveries and employee mobility, rather than limit recognition to commercial logistics.

Company bike leasing is already an established business model, the organisations said, citing more than 2.2 million leased company bikes in active use in Germany and an annual market worth €3 billion. They also pointed to Belgium as an example of company bike leasing developing alongside corporate vehicle electrification.

ECI chief executive Paul Walsh argued that the legislation should recognise mobility options already helping businesses reduce costs and emissions. ECF chief executive Laurianne Krid called for support measures covering commuting as well as freight, citing cycling’s wider health and accessibility benefits.

The organisations urged Parliament and member states to broaden the recital and restore fuller recognition of cycling during the next legislative stages. The corporate vehicles proposal is a separate file from the revision of manufacturers’ car and van CO₂ standards.

Commission tourism strategy sets out aviation, car rental, and ticketing reforms

The European Commission plans to revise EU air services rules, propose legislation on cross-border car rentals, and examine interoperability between local public transport ticketing systems under its Sustainable Tourism Strategy.

The strategy, dated the 4th of November, brings together forthcoming transport initiatives and broader measures on tourism management, accessibility, and resilience. Its accompanying timetable envisages a revision of the Air Services Regulation and a fitness check of airport legislation in the second half of 2027.

Cross-border car rental legislation is also scheduled for the second half of 2027. The initiative is intended to facilitate more affordable rentals across national borders, alongside cooperation with operators on digital and contactless check-in procedures.

For local public transport, the Commission plans to explore EU-wide ticketing interoperability with transport authorities and associations in the first half of 2028. The commitment is to examine possible solutions; it does not itself establish an obligation on operators to make their ticketing systems interoperable.

A targeted legislative revision concerning passenger rights is scheduled for the second half of 2028, with the aim of improving accessibility for persons with disabilities and reduced mobility. These future measures sit alongside the rail ticketing and multimodal booking proposals already cited in the strategy.

Rail and cycling feature in the Commission’s plans to improve tourism connectivity. The strategy calls for closer cooperation between railway and tourism stakeholders, including on night trains, and supports linking cycling routes such as EuroVelo with public transport and bike-friendly services.

Urban mobility measures include an initiative to improve access to information about urban vehicle access restrictions. The Commission also envisages a study of taxis and private hire services, including their contribution to decarbonisation and multimodal travel.

Beyond transport, the timetable provides for a Council recommendation and EU toolbox on balanced tourism management in the second half of 2027. A Tourism Crisis Coordination Network is planned for the same period. The measures set out a programme of subsequent legislative and non-legislative work, with individual transport reforms still requiring development through their respective procedures.

VÆRIDION raises €30 million and secures selection for EU grant as electric aviation programmes advance

Electric aircraft developer VÆRIDION has raised €30 million in a Series A2 financing round and been selected for a €94.5 million EU Innovation Fund grant, as European and US public funding supports the development of battery-electric and hybrid-electric regional aircraft.

The equity round will support construction of the first conforming version of VÆRIDION’s nine-passenger Microliner and integrated battery and propulsion testing. The proposed Innovation Fund grant would support a final assembly facility at Oberpfaffenhofen, with a grant agreement expected in 2027. The selection therefore does not constitute receipt of the full grant amount.

VÆRIDION is targeting a range of 400 km with nine passengers under instrument flight rules. Its next development stages include integrating batteries and propulsion on a ground-test rig, wind-tunnel testing, and preparations for flight testing. The company reports commitments for more than 130 aircraft and identifies ASL Group as its launch customer.

The announcement comes alongside US support for Heart Aerospace’s hybrid-electric programme. In an announcement on the 12th of October, the Los Angeles-based manufacturer said it had received a $2.9 million award under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise programme. An equal contribution from Heart brings the project’s value to $5.8 million over 24 months.

The funding will support Project HYPER, which concerns development and testing of the turbogenerator for Heart’s 36-seat ES-36. Each of the aircraft’s two propulsion nacelles is intended to house a megawatt-class turbogenerator, producing electricity in flight to extend range beyond battery-only operations.

Heart plans to begin with ground testing of the interaction between the turbogenerator, batteries, and electric motors before progressing to demonstration flights on its pre-production aircraft, which is scheduled to make its first flight in 2028. The work is intended to generate data on energy use, fuel consumption, emissions, and noise, supporting both the ES-36’s certification and the FAA’s wider assessment of hybrid-electric aircraft.

The manufacturer is targeting an all-electric range of 125 miles and a hybrid range of up to 745 miles, both plus reserves. For longer missions, electricity generated using Jet A or sustainable aviation fuel would supplement battery power.

Meanwhile, photographs posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on the 28th of October reportedly show a possible full-scale ground demonstrator of COMAC’s 19-seat CE-25A. The aircraft shown carries the registration B-0EFH and features a T-tail and ten ducted fans mounted above its wings, suggesting a distributed electric propulsion configuration.

COMAC has not verified the sighting. The images therefore provide a possible indication of progress on the programme, rather than confirmation of a flight-ready aircraft or a completed flight test.