Your next second-hand electric car could come from a company car park. On Wednesday, EU lawmakers voted to push big firms towards clean fleets and keep public money for cars made in Europe. They also backed small electric cars and alarms for children left in locked cars.
The votes covered two separate proposals. Both aim to help Europe’s car industry and break its reliance on fossil fuels. The first, on clean corporate vehicles, passed the Parliament’s environment and transport committees. The second, a package to simplify rules for carmakers, went through those two committees together with the internal market committee.
The proposed rules could change how companies buy vehicles. They could also encourage manufacturers to develop cheaper battery-powered electric cars. On top of that, they would set new safety standards for both drivers and passengers.
Corporate fleets in the slow lane
Businesses play a major role in Europe’s car market. According to the European Parliament, companies account for 58 per cent of new car registrations and 90 per cent of new van registrations across the EU. Yet electric vehicles still represent a relatively small share of corporate fleets.
In 2025, zero-emission cars accounted for just 17 per cent of new corporate car registrations, slightly below the overall EU average of 17.4 per cent. To speed up the transition, the two committees backed national targets for cleaner company vehicles.
Under the plan, each member state would get its own target for the share of zero- and low-emission vehicles among new corporate registrations. The targets for 2030 and 2035 range from 67 to 95 per cent. They are aspirational, so governments could choose how to reach them, for instance through cheaper road tolls or more charging points.
The rules would only cover large companies with more than 250 employees and an annual turnover above €50m. Vehicles built for special purposes, such as civil protection, policing, or military mobility, would be exempt.
Public money for EU-made cars only
The proposal would also change how governments support company vehicle purchases. From 2028, member states could no longer subsidise corporate cars and vans unless they are zero- or low-emission vehicles. Any such support would also have to go to vehicles made in the European Union. The Industrial Accelerator Act is set to define what that means.
Each country would also have to draw up national plans from 2028, covering market developments, tax regimes, and policies to encourage cleaner fleets. Company vehicles typically enter the second-hand market after three to four years. That matters, because more than 80 per cent of Europeans buy their cars there. More electric company cars could therefore mean more used electric cars for households.
With this law we are making sure corporate fleets lead the shift to clean mobility and taxpayer funds are allocated as efficiently as possible. — Tiemo Wölken (S&D/DEU), co-rapporteur for the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety
Tiemo Wölken (S&D/DEU), who steered the file through the environment committee, welcomed the result. “With this law we are making sure corporate fleets lead the shift to clean mobility and taxpayer funds are allocated as efficiently as possible,” he said. His fellow co-rapporteur François Kalfon (S&D/FRA), from the transport committee, argued that the future supply of used electric cars could make cleaner vehicles more accessible to lower-income households.
Small, efficient, and made in Europe
In the second vote, the three committees backed changes to simplify vehicle rules and encourage the production of electric cars in Europe. The proposal would create a new category for small electric vehicles manufactured in the EU and measuring no more than 4.2 metres in length.
Lawmakers also want a category for highly efficient EU-made electric cars that meet strict electricity consumption limits, and another for zero-emission vans made in the EU. The aim is to make these vehicles eligible for targeted incentives. These could include ‘super-credits’ under separate EU rules on carmakers’ CO₂ emissions. Such credits let manufacturers count a clean car more than once towards their emission targets.
Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA/DEU), co-rapporteur for the environment committee, said Parliament had to provide “clarity and planning certainty amid the chaos” in the car industry. “Electric cars are the future, and Europe could build great ones,” he added.
Andreas Schwab (EPP/DEU), co-rapporteur for the internal market committee, said the vote cut red tape for carmakers. He added that the new category of highly efficient EU-made cars would strengthen competitiveness and create jobs in Europe. The Commission estimates that the simplification measures could save industry, citizens, and public authorities around €706m each year.
Child alarms and emergency door handles
Alongside measures to support electric vehicles, lawmakers want stronger safety requirements for cars and vans weighing up to 3.5 tonnes. These would include systems that detect a child left inside a vehicle after the driver switches it off or locks it. Door handles would also need to let people open doors mechanically from both inside and outside in emergencies.
The proposed changes aim to improve passenger safety, particularly if electronic door systems stop working. Other measures would simplify technical requirements for manufacturers. Electric vans weighing between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes could be exempt from mandatory speed-limiting devices, subject to regular review.
Lawmakers also want to delay Euro 7 rules for heavy-duty vehicles, the EU’s latest limits on exhaust pollution, by 18 months. For EU-made plug-in hybrid cars, the current method of calculating CO₂ emissions would remain unchanged until the end of 2029. From 2030, it would be updated annually using real-world driving data.
December vote, then talks with capitals
The clean corporate vehicles proposal passed the committee stage by 89 votes to 29, with four abstentions. The simplification package received 105 votes in favour, 39 against, and 21 abstentions.
Electric cars are the future, and Europe could build great ones. — Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA/DEU), co-rapporteur for the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety
The full Parliament should vote on its negotiating mandates for both proposals at its December plenary session. After that, it will negotiate the final rules with EU governments in the Council.
For carmakers, the outcome will determine which vehicles qualify for new incentives and how quickly they must adapt to technical and safety requirements. Drivers will want to know whether the rules make electric cars more affordable and transport cleaner. They will also watch whether carmakers pass the cost of new requirements on to them.
