Merz Backs Auto Industry’s Push for Looser EU Rules on EV Shift

Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for more regulatory flexibility from the European Union, throwing his weight behind the German auto industry’s push to soften rules that would effectively ban combustion engine vehicles in 10 years.

The conservative leader stopped short of calling for the 2035 deadline for selling only emission-free vehicles to be delayed or scrapped — something that some members of his bloc have been agitating for. Instead, he reiterated his coalition government’s support for “technology openness,” a reference to the auto sector’s desire for hybrid and other vehicles to be exempted from the rules.

“We are, of course, fundamentally ...