BRUSSELS, March 12 — The average price of an electric car dropped for the first time since 2020 in Europe last year, which helped sales, a report found today, as the EU debates weakening climate targets for automakers.

EU environment ministers are to discuss next week a proposal to relax a 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, which Europe’s beleaguered car manufacturers have deemed unattainable.

Yet all carmakers have already met or are on track to comply with 2025-2027 emission targets — a first hurdle on the way to 2035 — as electric vehicle (EV) sales pick up, according to advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E).

EVs accounted for 19 per cent of all new cars sold in the European Union and Norway in 2025, up from about 14 per cent the previous year, T&E said in a report.

The average electric car price across the bloc fell by four per cent, or €1,800, to €42,700 (US$49,390), the analysis found, adding this was driven by the release of new, affordable, small EV models.

T&E credited EU emission reduction targets for the price drop, saying they pushed carmakers to bring more competitively priced models to market.

“Even if the automotive industry doesn’t like to admit it, the EU’s CO2 standards have enabled hundreds of thousands of Europeans to access more affordable electric cars,” the group said.

Automakers face steep fines for failing to comply with emission targets.

EVs’ higher upfront costs compared with combustion engine equivalents have long been seen as a drag on sales.

But price parity is within reach by 2030 if the EU leaves its related emission goals unchanged, according to T&E.

The targets will be a hotly debated issue in Brussels in the coming weeks.

Under plans put forward in December, carmakers will have to cut exhaust emissions from new vehicles by 90 per cent from 2021 levels by 2035 — down from the previously envisaged 100 per cent.

Auto manufacturers will also benefit from “super credits” for small “affordable” electric cars made in the EU, in an accounting trick that would make reaching emission targets easier.

But the car industry is pushing for more concessions, including further weakening an intermediate 2030 target.

European auto lobby ACEA wants the latter spread over five years, up from the three proposed by the European Commission, among other measures. — AFP