Europe gives hypercars a CO2 pass

Europe’s most exclusive car-makers – from McLaren, Koenigsegg and Pagani to Lotus and Donkervoort – have dodged the 2035 zero-emissions bullet fired at car-makers by the European Parliament this week.

While every other manufacturer will only be allowed to sell zero-emissions vehicles from 2035, ultra-low-volume car-makers will be allowed to continue using internal-combustion engines – indefinitely.

So will all car-makers – if their engines run on synthetic ‘e-fuel’, which is being developed by Porsche for its performance vehicles and potentially other brands in the Volkswagen Group.

After years of negotiations, it came as no shock that the EU approved a law that effectively bans the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and light commercials sold in the EU from 2035.

While the European Parliament agreed to the legislation in October last year, its formal approval by the Council of the European Union is expected within a few weeks.

The new law will also legislate a 55 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from all new cars and SUVs in Europe by 2030 (compared to their 2021 levels) and a 50 per cent reduction for vans.

But boutique car-makers (those selling fewer than 1000 vehicles a year) will be exempt indefinitely from both emissions cuts, provided they can show they are improving their emissions.

Car makers-selling between 1000 and 10,000 cars in Europe a year, like Aston Martin, are exempt from the interim emission cut, but not the 2035 rule (the same goes for van makers selling up to 22,000 vehicles a year).

Ferrari does not qualify for the exemptions, because it sold 13,221 cars in 2022 (which explains its upcoming EV).

Arch-rival Porsche last year sold an incredible 309,884 sales to be regarded as a mainstream manufacturer, which is why it has EV versions of the Macan and the Boxster/Cayman on their way.

The European Small Volume Car Alliance (ESCA) represents manufacturers with volumes up to 10,000 a year, and pushed back against the EU demands for zero-emission vehicles on the grounds of financial viability.

Donkervoort sold less than 100 of its D8 GTO Individual Series models in 2022 to be considered ‘ultra small volume’, while Croatia’s Rimac also qualifies for an exemption, although it already only sells electric cars.

McLaren’s investor report showed it sold 1395 cars in the first three quarters of last year, putting it firmly in the ‘small volume’ sector, but the British brand makes the cut, surprisingly, because it sold fewer than 1000 cars in Europe in 2022.

“EU legislation recognises the unique circumstances for small and ultra-small volume manufacturers and allows for flexibilities prior to 2035 if the manufacturer has agreed a clear CO2 reduction plan with the EU,” a statement from McLaren explained.

Other brands in ESCA include Alpine, Alpina, Aston Martin, Bugatti, INEOS, KTM, Lotus, Pagani, Praga, Ruf, Wiesman, Groupil and Radical.

They aren’t the only ultra-low volume brands in Europe, though, with Morgan, Ariel, Caterham, Marcos, Bristol and the troubled TVR lurking in the UK alone. Europe also has Dallara, Apollo and Zenvo, and Australia even boasts the reborn Brabham.

The biggest and most polluting engine in ESCA is the quad-turbo W16 in the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, with combined WLTP CO2 emissions of 571.6g/km, though Pagani’s naturally-aspirated V12 AMG motor isn’t far behind.

But not every member of the ESCA is a hypercar maker, with Groupil (owned by Polaris) making small electric utility vehicles for workshops and councils. INEOS has plans to exceed the ESCA maximum volume of 10,000 a year, but until it does its Grenadier off-roader still qualifies.

ESCA says emissions from boutique car-makers might be higher per vehicle, but its members’ cars rarely do more than 5000km a year and are rarely discarded, living long lives with regular mechanical attention.

The boutique hypercar business is already electrifying, with Rimac starting as a pure EV-maker and sharing its EV architecture with Pininfarina for its Bautista.

It has also bought Bugatti, in a complex share swap arrangement that will see the former Volkswagen Group brand switch to EVs when its Chiron Pur Sport’s reign is over.

Sweden’s Koenigsegg has already developed its own electric motor, its own inverter and its own e-drive unit, while McLaren’s Artura already uses a hybrid powertrain.

INEOS has an EV planned for 2026, and has a zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell EV version of its Grenadier in the works, while Alpina is piggy-backing the hybrid and EV tech of its owner, BMW.

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