How car companies and IG Metall are fighting for controversial plug-in hybrids

The wish list of the European automotive industry, which met with the EU Commission in Brussels on Friday for the auto summit, can be summed up succinctly: no further tightening of CO₂ requirements, but more support to become internationally competitive again.

The European industry association ACEA is calling for a “reality check” on emissions regulations, and the German association president Hildegard Müller is even calling for a “change of course”.

The priorities are far apart: While the EU Commission wanted to discuss affordable electric cars "Made in Europe" with the industry, the industry is primarily pushing for a move away from the use of combustion engines. However, the Commission has so far shown itself undeterred and will first wait for an assessment report, which is scheduled to be presented in early 2026.

A strategy paper, prepared immediately before the auto summit and made available to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), confirms: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen remains committed to the previously agreed phase-out of combustion engines by 2035. According to the paper, the Commission believes Europe is on the right track: The market share of battery-electric vehicles is already 17 percent, and that of plug-in hybrids is even at 25 percent. "These figures show that the goal of 100 percent clean and affordable mobility in a decade remains achievable – if the necessary robust and coordinated measures are taken."

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In short: The phase-out of combustion engines by 2035 is feasible if the industry acts now. However, the paper does not explicitly exclude hybrid vehicles.

"Climate protection won't succeed with a single-technology strategy," warns VDA CEO Müller. "Electromobility will largely be the powertrain of the future, but plug-in hybrids, hydrogen, and renewable fuels must be recognized as components of the solution on the path to climate-neutral mobility."

The European automotive industry is under pressure because it has largely been left behind by international competitors in the transition to electric vehicles. High production costs and low battery capacities are slowing down manufacturers in this country.

Last year, one in four electric vehicles sold in the EU came from China. Price pressure is enormous: Chinese electric cars cost an average of €32,000, compared to more than €50,000 for European vehicles.

Added to this is the slump in European car exports to the US since the introduction of US tariffs in April. Jens Gieseke (CDU), transport policy spokesperson for the center-right EPP group in the European Parliament, warns: "It's five minutes to midnight for the European auto industry. Job cuts and slumping profits have dominated the headlines for far too long."

In Germany alone, approximately 50,000 jobs were lost between June 2024 and June 2025. Car sales in the country in the first eight months were 25 percent below the comparable figure for 2019.

The EU Commission has already made concessions in recent months: Among other things, car manufacturers now have more flexibility to achieve their 2025 emissions targets.

Nevertheless, Gieseke calls for more favorable framework conditions: "The next step must finally be a legislative proposal for the revision of the combustion engine ban, which gives e-fuels, range extenders, hydrogen, and other technologies a future in Europe."

The powerful IG Metall union, once an advocate of a consistent transformation toward pure-bred electric vehicles (BEVs), is now also arguing along these lines. A list of demands developed by the union together with the VDA (German Automobile Manufacturers' Association) has just been published.

The main focus is on "a pragmatic approach to hybrid technologies and renewable fuels." This could secure 200,000 jobs across Europe. Plug-in hybrids (cars with a plug-in socket, electric motor, and combustion engine - PHEVs) and electric vehicles with a fossil-fuel auxiliary engine (range extenders) have the potential to "play a meaningful role on the path to climate-neutral mobility," states the paper, which was obtained by RND. Specifically, it calls for mitigating the so-called benefit factors for PHEVs.

The background: An analysis by the think tank T&E shows that the CO2 emissions of plug-ins in real-world operation on the road are now on average about five times higher than the values ​​measured in official emissions tests. Accordingly, fuel consumption is also significantly higher. There is widespread talk of rogue engines.

To correct these imbalances, the EU has introduced efficiency factors, which it intends to gradually tighten. These relate to the assumed proportion of journeys that are covered exclusively by electricity and therefore CO2-free. The eligible electricity share is to be significantly reduced in the coming years to encourage automakers to focus more quickly and more heavily on fully electric vehicles so that they can comply with emissions limits.

The IGM and VDA are now calling for the planned tightening of regulations to be reversed in order to ensure the "economic viability" of plug-in technology. Maintaining the current regulations would also be disastrous for employment policy, the union and employers' association emphasize. In other words: more lax environmental standards to save jobs.

Environmental organizations have voiced massive criticism. Pauline Schur of the German Nature Conservation Union told RND: "The global market is shifting toward electromobility, and the only question is: with or without German manufacturers?" Those who now rely on short-term, pseudo-solutions like alternative fuels and plug-in hybrids risk even more jobs in the future and exacerbate the climate crisis.

Sebastian Bock of T&E also emphasizes: "IG Metall is going down the wrong path if it follows the VDA's call for watering down the regulation of plug-in hybrids." High fuel consumption and high CO2 emissions are not only bad for the climate, but also expensive for drivers.

Regarding synthetic fuels produced using green hydrogen, Bock points to studies that show “that these will neither be available nor affordable on a large scale.”