04:22 18-11-2025

IMT warns against post-2035 PHEV/EREV exemptions, says EVs are cheaper and cleaner

France's IMT argues exemptions for PHEVs and EREVs after 2035 would cost buyers more than EVs, raise lifecycle CO2 by 60-70%, and weaken Europe's EV industry.

The French Institute for Mobility in Transition (IMT) has criticized plans to grant PHEVs and EREVs a reprieve beyond 2035. While the European Commission weighs potential exemptions, the institute’s experts argue that would be a misstep: for buyers, these cars would end up costlier and less attractive than all-electric models.

According to IMT calculations, reviewed by the journalists at 32CARS.RU, a new PHEV would be 7% more expensive than a comparable EV, and on the used market the gap widens to 18%. A dual powertrain adds manufacturing cost, complicates servicing, and makes residual values harder to predict.

Meanwhile, EV prices keep edging down as LFP batteries proliferate and local production scales up. Against that backdrop, moving straight to electric looks more sensible than backing interim technologies. IMT adds that if hybrids stay in the mix after 2035, low-income families—who rely on the used market more often—would be hit hardest.

The environmental argument points the same way. Even with e-fuel or biofuels, PHEVs leave a 60–70% higher carbon footprint over their full life cycle.

IMT maintains that carving out exceptions for hybrids would undercut the competitiveness of Europe’s industry, keep the region dependent on fuel imports, and slow investment in batteries. Taken together, the case reads as a clear signal of where the market is heading: the momentum now sits with battery-electric cars.