European Union Will Ban ICE Car Sales In 2035, BMW Boss: This Is The Wrong Step

JAKARTA - Some time ago, the European Union (EU) determined it would prohibit the sale of new combustion car (ICE) in 2035. This has led to mixed responses, including the BMW camp.

BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse said EU's plan to ban the sale of new cars with ICE engines by 2035 was a wrong decision and said it was just a trick to accelerate the launch of synthetic fuels or e-fuels.

"But at the moment, we see a significant risk that e-fuels will be instrumented politically in debate over the ban on combustion engines by 2035," Zipse was quoted as saying by the BMW Blog, Saturday, August 10.

He also said that the European Commission must accelerate the availability of electronic fuel so that its use is practical by 2035.

"Currently there are many indications that the EU Commission is working on a fake solution by banning combustion engines by just opening up to e-fuels," Zipse added.

Zipse considered that without joint efforts to accelerate the use of low-emission fuels, any easing of the combustion engine ban on incorporating e-fuels would not be effective.

Unlike rivals like Audi and Mercedes-Benz, BMW has a different approach, which is to keep ICE machines for the next few years.

The German manufacturer considers the approach to be a strategic plan to avoid an early cessation of products that still have market relevance.

While BMW aims to increase its share of electric car sales from 15 percent to 50 percent by 2030, the company argues that brands don't just focus on EVs amid increasing demand for this segment.

Another rival from BMW, Porsche also has the same vision of this. In fact, the brand has also invested in the development of synthetic fuels (e-fuels) of 100 million US dollars, with 75 million US dollars used to acquire interests in the HIF Global LLC in April 2022.

With this combination of innovative approaches, Porsche affirms its commitment to exploring various sustainable solutions, either through electric vehicles or through technology development such as Direct Air Capture (DAC).