EU Parliament committee votes to soften the 2035 petrol and diesel car ban

The European Parliament's Environment Committee has voted to weaken the EU's 2035 combustion-engine phaseout, approving a text that would let petrol and diesel cars stay on sale in reduced numbers after that date. The committee backed the plan on November 4, 2026, by 48 votes in favour, 30 against and two abstentions.

Nothing has changed yet for buyers or automakers. The vote sets Parliament's negotiating position rather than a new law, and the existing 100 percent targets for cars and vans remain in force until the legislative process runs its course.

What the committee approved for cars

For new passenger cars, the committee proposal would lower the 2035 fleet-wide emissions target from a full phaseout to an 87.5 percent reduction against 2021 levels. Part of the remaining gap could be covered with credits for using low-carbon steel made in the EU, which the committee caps at 7.5 percent of the reference target, bringing the effective figure closer to 95 percent.

A tighter limit applies in the near term. Between the rules' entry into force and the end of 2034, low-carbon-steel credits would be restricted to just 3 percent of specific targets for both cars and vans, well below the long-term 7.5 percent ceiling.

Vans face a different set of numbers

Vans diverge further from what is currently on the books. The committee set a 2030 target of 35 percent, short of the European Commission's own 40 percent proposal and a steep step down from the 50 percent reduction vans face under rules already in force. By 2035, the committee would cut the van target from a full 100 percent to 80 percent, with the same low-carbon-steel credit mechanism available and again capped at 7.5 percent.

The credit system lets automakers hit a nominally lower target while still getting partial recognition for cleaner manufacturing. Steel production is one of the largest sources of embedded emissions in a vehicle's supply chain, so crediting EU-made low-carbon steel gives manufacturers another lever besides tailpipe output alone. That is a meaningful shift from the original 2035 framework, which counted only what came out of the exhaust pipe, and it explains why the committee's headline percentages look softer than a simple side-by-side comparison would suggest.

The industry had been split on the original ban, and the committee's compromise reflects that divide rather than resolving it.

Why the vote is not the final word

The committee's text is a negotiating mandate that still needs approval from the full Parliament before talks with EU governments can begin. That full Parliament vote is expected in December 2026. Until Parliament votes and any resulting deal clears the remaining legislative steps with the Council, the original 100 percent targets for both cars and vans stay exactly as they are.

For drivers and car buyers, the practical effect is that showroom rules are unchanged for now. The significance lies in the direction of travel: a committee of lawmakers has formally endorsed keeping some combustion-engined cars on sale past 2035, and has opened a second route to compliance through steel sourcing rather than exhaust output alone. Whether that position survives the full Parliament and negotiations with member states is the next test.

Mercedes-AMG has built a single Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4Matic+ that will be handed to the winner of the 2026 FAGE WTA Finals singles title, with the keys presented during the trophy ceremony on November 15, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. The car was unveiled at a WTA Clubhouse event in Los Angeles ahead of the tournament, which runs from November 8 to 15.

It is a one-off commission, so the exact specification cannot be ordered from a dealer: it exists for one champion and one result on court. The runner-up does not receive it, and the doubles champions get a different prize entirely.

The car was produced through Mercedes-AMG's Manufaktur Made to Measure programme, the division that handles bespoke commissions. Its exterior is finished in a Manufaktur Made to Measure Ultraviolet paint drawn from the WTA's own colour scheme, and it rides on 21-inch AMG forged cross-spoke wheels.

Inside, the SL swaps its standard trim for Crystal White Manufaktur Nappa leather with AMG carbon fibre trim, custom-designed door sills and embroidered headrest cushions. A personalised badge carries the champion's name, which means the car cannot be finished until the tournament has a winner.

The mechanical package is untouched. The 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system and the rest of the AMG performance hardware carry over from the standard SL 55, with the Manufaktur work limited to paint and upholstery. That is consistent with how the programme has handled earlier one-off commissions.

Mercedes has not published power or torque figures for this particular car, and because the drivetrain is unchanged from the standard SL 55 4Matic+, its output is whatever that model already produces rather than anything specific to the prize. The sources do not restate those numbers, so the safest reading is that the winner gets a standard SL 55 underneath the bespoke finish.

Nor is there a price to quote. The car is a gift tied to the championship rather than a retail order, and no value has been announced for the commission. What is confirmed is that it cannot be bought: it is a single build for a single outcome.

The singles champion is the only driver who takes the SL 55 home. Doubles winners instead receive complimentary 12-month leases of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a separate arrangement confirmed by the WTA and Mercedes-Benz.

The handover closes out the first season of Mercedes-Benz's role as the WTA Tour's Premier Partner and Exclusive Automobile Partner, a deal that began at the start of the 2026 season. Sarah Swanson, chief brand officer at WTA Ventures, described the car as a fitting way to round off that first season and pointed to the Mercedes-Benz Signature Court and other fan-facing programmes the partnership has produced this year.

Christina Schenck, vice president of digital and communications and investor relations at Mercedes-Benz AG, said the champion's car was made just for her, as individual as her own journey to the top, and that every time she gets into her new Mercedes-Benz, the feeling should be: 'Welcome home'.

A one-off prize car is marketing as much as product. The Ultraviolet paint and Crystal White cabin give Mercedes-AMG a visible presence in a women's tennis final watched well beyond the United States, and the personalised badge turns a standard SL 55 into something no buyer can replicate.

For drivers and car buyers, the practical takeaway is narrower: nothing about the SL 55's chassis, all-wheel-drive system or performance changes here, so the prize says more about how Mercedes-AMG wants the Manufaktur name understood, as a route to individual finishes, than about any new engineering. The one thing the commission does guarantee is timing: the car stays unnamed until the final point is played, and the champion collects it on November 15.