The thinking is that an EV-only mandate could make people hold on to their old cars longer.
Ford reckons emissions targets should be based on demand and the charging infrastructure.
The company argues the EU should encourage plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles.
There was a time when Ford of Europe pledged to end sales of combustion-engine passenger cars by 2030. However, that ambitious objective is no longer in place, as the Blue Oval has come to grips with the reality that EV adoption isn’t progressing as quickly as the company had projected at the beginning of the decade.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), purely electric cars accounted for 19.5 percent of sales last year across the European Union, the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. In the first quarter of 2026, the share of EVs in total passenger car registrations rose to 20.6 percent. Even so, there’s still a long way to go before everyone switches from gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles to battery EVs.
