• The EU did adopt a 2022 regulation that would have required a 100% CO2 reduction for new cars and vans by 2035, effectively banning new internal combustion engine (ICE) registrations from that date, but this measure applied only to new sales and never to existing vehicles owned by private citizens¹².
• In December 2025, the European Commission proposed abandoning that 2035 ban, replacing the 100% target with a 90% CO2 reduction target and allowing continued sales of combustion-engine vehicles, including plug-in hybrids and cars running on e-fuels or biofuels³⁴.
• Senior EU lawmakers have since confirmed that the “technology ban on combustion engines is off the table,” meaning the bloc is moving away from an outright phase-out rather than imposing one⁵.
• As of mid-2026, no EU-wide ban on ICE cars for private citizens is in effect or confirmed; the relevant legislation is being weakened, not strengthened.

Overall validity: 0%

1. Mostly False: “A ban on new internal combustion engine cars achieves nothing for the climate” – eufactcheck.eu
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