Germany Calls on EU to Soften Combustion Ban to Aid Carmakers

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his governing coalition will seek to loosen an effective ban on combustion-engine vehicles in the European Union as Germany seeks to ease pressure on its embattled carmakers.

Merz’s conservatives and the co-ruling Social Democrats want the EU to allow plug-in hybrids, electric cars with combustion-powered range extenders and “highly efficient” conventional vehicles to be allowed beyond 2035, when the ban is set to take effect, Merz said at a news conference in Berlin.

Friedrich Merz

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

The ruling parties understand “how precarious the situation in the automotive industry is,” the chancellor said, adding that he plans to send ...