Merz ramps up pressure on EU over electric car shift

GERMAN Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Tuesday for "more flexibility" from the EU in the transition to electric cars as resistance grows over plans to phase out combustion-engine vehicle sales by 2035.

- AFP

Merz made the appeal at the opening of the IAA motor show in Munich, as Europe's struggling automakers line up to plead for the bloc to reconsider the plan aimed at combating climate change.

German titans VW, BMW and Mercedes-Benz as well as US-European giant Stellantis have voiced concerns as they struggle to build up competitive electric vehicles (EV) against Chinese rivals like BYD.

While he did not openly criticise the EU's deadline to halt sales of new combustion engine cars in a decade, Merz said he wanted to see "more flexibility" in European regulation.

"We are of course committed to the transition to e-mobility," the conservative leader, who took office in May, told the show.

But he added that "we need smart, reliable and flexible European regulation - it is more necessary than ever".

"We want to achieve climate protection as cost-effectively as possible through technological openness. Unilateral political commitments to specific technologies are fundamentally the wrong economic policy approach."