Companies like Sixt and Europcar could be limited to EV purchases within five years, according to a German media report
July 21, 2025 at 11:11
- European rental companies could be forced to go electric in five years, a report says.
- The agencies would only be allowed to buy EVs after 2030, Germany’s Bild learned.
- Assuming a two-year rental car life, renting in Europe could be all-electric by 2032.
European car buyers will still have the freedom to choose between combustion and electric vehicles until 2035, when the EU’s planned ban on new gas-powered cars takes effect. But a new report suggests that anyone renting vehicles might not enjoy the same freedoms.
Related: VW And Audi Could Keep Selling ICE Models In Europe Beyond 2033
The European Commission is working on plans to prevent rental companies and large corporations from buying ICE-powered cars from 2030, according to German media. Agencies like Europcar and Sixt would only be allowed to buy electric cars to replace de-fleeted hire cars, Bild says it learned from unnamed Commission sources.
Electric Only for Renters by 2032?
Assuming that most rental cars only last one or two years on a company’s fleet, this could mean renters would have no choice but to take an electric car from 2032 and possibly earlier. Although rental firms do already offer electric cars, they are more expensive to hire and less popular than combustion cars. They have also proved expensive for rental companies to repair.
If the proposal becomes law and extends to large corporations as well as rental businesses, it could also work to effectively fast-track the EU’s 2035 ban on combustion cars. Sales to rental companies make up around a fifth of all new car registrations in Europe, and fleet sales overall account for around 60 percent.
This could result in far fewer new combustion cars being sold after 2030, and far fewer combustion cars hitting the used market in the years after, limiting used buyers’ options. And who’d be surprised if automakers rationalized their ICE ranges before 2035 because it became no longer economically viable to make as many versions without the huge bulk of fleet orders to justify the production costs?
That could also be bad news for automaker workers who are already facing a future where there will be fewer jobs.
Commission Keeps Details Under Wraps
While the EU confirmed to Bild’s reporters that it was working on new regulations concerning the sale of cars in the bloc, it declined to share specifics that would verify the reported 2030 cut-off for ICE fleet purchases.
Lead image Kia
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