Volvo and Polestar Warn EU: Delaying 2035 Petrol Car Ban Will Hand Market to China

Two leading Swedish electric vehicle manufacturers, Volvo and Polestar, are urging the European Union to stick firmly to its 2035 deadline for ending the production of new petrol and diesel cars. They argue that any delay would weaken Europe’s competitiveness and allow China to dominate the rapidly growing electric vehicle sector.
Polestar’s chief executive, Michael Lohscheller, strongly criticised calls from German leaders to soften the cutoff date by allowing new hybrids and efficient combustion engines after 2035. He warned that reversing or postponing the target would discourage investment in electrification and send a damaging signal to consumers that clean technologies can wait. According to Lohscheller, while Europe debates, China is accelerating — and will not hesitate to seize the advantage.
Volvo’s chief executive, Håkan Samuelsson, echoed these concerns, noting that slowing the transition would only deepen Europe’s technological lag. He likened the current resistance to historical pushback on safety regulations such as seatbelts and catalytic converters — innovations that only became universal because they were mandated. Samuelsson believes that electrification is not just environmentally necessary but also commercially inevitable, as electric cars are already matching consumer expectations for long range, fast charging and declining costs.
Both leaders stressed that Europe has nearly a decade to complete the shift and that hesitation now would put thousands of jobs and the continent’s industrial future at risk. They argue that the only viable strategy is to accelerate electrification, not delay it.