The European Commission has watered down its plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.
Current rules state that new vehicles sold from that date should be "zero emission", but carmakers, particularly in Germany, have lobbied heavily for concessions.
Under the European Commission's new plan, 90% of new cars sold from 2035 would have to be zero-emission, rather than 100%.
According to the European carmakers association, ACEA, market demand for electric cars is currently too low, and without a change to the rules, manufacturers would risk "multi-billion euro" penalties.
The remaining 10% could be made up of conventional petrol or diesel cars, along with hybrids.
