Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius is the eternal optimist, and for good reason. He has long pushed the European Union to roll back its lofty goal of phasing out new internal combustion engine cars, arguing that weakening the rules was a return to pragmatism and not capitulation to opponents of Europe’s green agenda.
Technology
Europe banned new gas cars after 2035 — now it’s reconsidering
His push is working. The rigid deadlines for phasing out combustion engines after 2035 are “no longer feasible,” Källenius told The Verge in a recent interview, given infrastructure bottlenecks and the sluggish adoption of EVs by consumers. More flexibility was needed to protect jobs and competitiveness, give consumers greater choice, and ensure manufacturers can finance the transition profitably.
“This is not a retreat,” he said in defense of loosening the 2035 deadline. “It is an upgrade to a smarter strategy that matches Europe’s ambitions with a thoughtful plan for success.”
“This is not a retreat.”
When the economy was humming and jobs were plentiful, Europeans largely backed an ambitious climate agenda. Now, with the economy limping and automakers and suppliers slashing tens of thousands of jobs, support has shifted toward slowing down the transition.
Källenius said that carmakers had proved their commitment to fighting global warming with a decade of huge investments in new technology, electric vehicles, and battery plants.
“Taking a more pragmatic approach could be a way of delivering on Europe’s climate goals more effectively,” he said. “The ultimate target of achieving CO2 neutrality in the EU by 2050 remains firmly in place. What changes is the path to get there.”
Reopening the ICE car ban
For now, it is still European law to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines after 2035. To change that, the EU has to either repeal the law or to amend it and create exceptions that would allow the sale of conventional cars to continue beyond the deadline.
At their October summit, European leaders called on the Commission, the bloc’s executive body, to reopen the ICE car ban and present proposals by the end of the year to slow Europe’s once brisk march to a carbon-free future.
The Commission has said it is considering allowing more “technology neutrality,” which analysts say means possibly allowing plug-in hybrids and ICE cars that run on synthetic fuels or biofuels, which produce fewer emissions than conventional fuel. The auto industry has been demanding such a change for years, and wants the Commission to count hybrids and cars that run on synthetic fuels among zero-emission vehicles, even if they have an internal combustion engine beyond the 2035 deadline.
“Turning the EU’s most important automotive regulation into a Swiss cheese will not restore the industry’s competitiveness,” said Lucien Mathieu, cars director at the Brussels-based lobby group Transport & Environment, in a statement in October. “It is a cynical attempt to dismantle a central pillar of Europe’s climate law. If the Commission capitulates to these demands, it will only hand a further competitive advantage to Chinese automakers.”
“Turning the EU’s most important automotive regulation into a Swiss cheese will not restore the industry’s competitiveness.”
Källenius noted that even after 2035 there would still be more than 200 million conventional cars on the road. Without alternative fuels and new ICE cars to replace them they would age, risking “a ‘Havana effect’ that would cause our vehicle fleet to grow even older, harming both the climate and the economy.”
Germany is lobbying to weaken the ban and create a longer transition period. The German economy is barely growing after two years of recession. The auto industry’s troubles go back a lot further. Auto production in Germany peaked in 1998, but fell 25 percent in the wake of covid in 2020, and has declined every year since. And now German automakers face new competition from lower-cost Chinese vehicles.
The country’s political leaders are alarmed because of the nearly 800,000 jobs that the industry provides and because economic uncertainty is fueling a rise of support for right-wing populism. Against this backdrop, the government is throwing its weight behind industry demands to roll back climate goals and throw core gas-powered cars a lifeline.
“There will be no hard cut” in 2035, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged after a meeting with auto industry leaders in September.
Alternative fuels and hybrids
Slowing the shift to electric vehicles aims to give carmakers and suppliers more time to keep earning money from their most profitable models and maintain their competitive edge over rivals, including the new Chinese manufacturers that are fast making inroads into European markets.
There is a danger that slowing the transition to EVs could put the huge investments that have been made in EV charging networks and battery plants at risk, which could also lead to job losses.
“If tomorrow we abandon the 2035 objective, forget European battery factories,” French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after the October leaders’ summit, pointing to the gigafactories now being built across the continent as a direct result of the 2035 deadline. Instead, he backed loosening the language of the law to allow alternative fuels and hybrids.
“There will be no hard cut” in 2035.
Allowing automakers to keep selling conventional cars as hybrids or with low-emission fuels is just one part of a compromise. To boost sales of economy EVs, Europeans are also working on incentives for new battery electric vehicle purchases. Manufacturers could be required to use more European-made components to be eligible for EV subsidies as a way to support jobs and push back against cheap Chinese imports.
As politicians discuss how to help automakers, the situation for the industry is increasingly dire.
The only growth in Europe’s automotive markets this year is coming from electric vehicles and hybrids, from which many automakers still struggle to earn any money because of the high costs of developing new technologies, manufacturing in Europe, and the still meager sales volumes of EVs.
Europeans bought 1.3 million battery-electric vehicles in the nine months through September, accounting for about 16 percent of total new car sales, according to ACEA, the continent’s auto lobby. But even the strong performance of electric and hybrid vehicles could not offset the steep decline of ICE cars. Overall, Europe’s new car sales grew just 0.9 percent in the first nine months.
‘We’re asking for a different regime’
For some automakers, the changes that are under discussion don’t go far enough.
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse told reporters in an earnings call that under the EU’s current law, manufacturers get no benefit from their investments in carbon-neutral components such as green steel or for building new, low-emission factories. He slammed the EU’s focus on regulating tailpipe emissions instead of the car’s total carbon footprint.
“We are not asking for the targets to be weakened. We’re asking for a different regime,” Zipse said. “We are continually reducing our CO2 footprint but it has no impact.”
Some green tech lobby groups and think tanks warn against boosting support for plug-in hybrids at the expense of full EVs.
Brussels-based Transport & Environment (T&E), a green tech lobby group, concluded in a recent study that plug-in hybrids emit nearly five times more CO2 in real world driving than shown in official tests. And even when running in electric mode, PHEVs burn more fuel than manufacturers claim because their combustion engines kick in when accelerating or driving uphill, the study concludes.
“We are continually reducing our CO2 footprint but it has no impact.”
The gap hits drivers’ wallets, too: Annual fuel and charging costs are about €500 higher than advertised. With an average sticker price of €55,700 in 2025, plug-in hybrids are also €15,200 more expensive than battery-electrics.
“Plug-in hybrids are one of the biggest cons in automotive history,” said T&E’s Mathieu.
Peter Mock, Europe managing director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, rejected the notion that plug-in hybrids are a “bridge” to electrification. He said evidence shows most drivers who switch to battery-electrics stay with them, while a large share of plug-in hybrid buyers later revert to combustion cars.
Mock pointed to Denmark, where battery-electrics account for about 70 percent of new sales, and Belgium at around 40 percent, as examples of how to accelerate adoption. The key, he said, is a mix of EU CO2 standards and national tax policies that make combustion cars more expensive while lowering costs for EVs — ideally in a self-balancing system where higher ICE taxes fund EV subsidies.
On e-fuels, Mock was blunt: They are too inefficient and costly for cars and trucks. “For road transport, electrification is by far the better option,” he said. “E-fuels are a distraction.”
‘The rest of the world will not stand still’
The EU’s climate policies of the past decade have attracted a lot of investment from pure EV manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and other suppliers along the EV supply chain. That’s why more than 200 business leaders from the industry wrote an open letter calling on the Commission to “Stand firm, don’t step back” in the face of legacy automaker lobbying.
Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Polestar, told The Verge that watering down the 2035 ban would punish companies that have already staked their future on electrification. “It undermines the basis for the investments that companies like us have made,” he said, noting that years of negotiation went into the current framework, including with legacy carmakers now seeking to backtrack.
While a delay might make EV demand less linear, Lohscheller said, “the shift will still happen and is happening, as we see in demand for our cars across most European markets.”
“Stand firm, don’t step back”
He also warned that Europe risks falling behind global competitors if it weakens its climate goals. “We would become even less competitive in the future. The rest of the world will not stand still: they will continue to develop new, better technologies, which would put even more future EU jobs in jeopardy.”
Others agree. Lawrence Hamilton, president of Lucid Motors Europe, said that reopening the debate over the EU’s 2035 combustion car ban risks confusing consumers and slowing electric vehicle adoption. “It remains a distraction in the conversation with the consumers,” he said. “If the ICE ban is rolled back, everybody believes they’ve got longer, and consumer adoption tends to be ‘not now.’ But we want people to be thinking about making the transition to EV now.”
Hamilton stressed that car replacement cycles are long — often seven years or more — which means the industry needs customers to start switching today, not years down the road. He pointed out that EVs are approaching price parity with gas cars, already deliver lower total cost of ownership in many cases, and have largely overcome concerns about range.
If Europe’s automakers want to regain competitiveness — especially against China — the answer is not to slow the shift to electric, but to double down on it and tackle their own structural weaknesses.
“They must close the battery cost gap, pivot to software and AI-driven manufacturing, and rediscover the entrepreneurial urgency their Chinese rivals live by,” said Andy Palmer, who played a key role in driving electric vehicle technology at Nissan and later was CEO of Aston Martin. “Europe still has immense engineering talent, but it’s held back by bureaucracy and legacy thinking. They need to catch up. And fast.”
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Lucid Motors found itself in a tough bind this week, fending off bankruptcy rumors and watching its stock price plunge as a result. The company quickly denied the report, calling it “completely false” and pointing to its available free cash flow as evidence that it has enough runway to operate into next year.
But despite the swift response, the damage was widespread. The panic immediately bled into competing automakers, pulling down shares of Rivian and Polestar as investors speculated about the long-term survival of EV-only companies in the face of slowing consumer demand and whiplash policy shifts. And it cast a harsh light on the precarity of all three companies and the future of electric vehicles.
The trouble started on Tuesday, when EV trade publication EV reported that restructuring firm AlixPartners had advised Lucid’s board to consider Chapter 11 bankruptcy or a take-private deal. The report also said AlixPartners had encouraged the board to further restructure in the US and Europe and to focus on the Gravity SUV. But while the rest of the media has since reported on Lucid’s denial, no other publication has confirmed EV’s scoop. (For what its worth, EV’s URL is “eletric-vehicle.com,” enshrining the incorrect spelling in its address.)
Lucid confirmed that it had hired AlixPartners, but denied that the firm had made any such recommendations to its board. Instead, AlixPartners would provide advice on “improving execution, strengthening operations and positioning Lucid to realize the full potential of its technology, products and innovation,” Lucid chief communications officer Nick Twork said.
Lucid went a step further, filing a cease and desist order against EV
Lucid went a step further, filing a cease and desist order against EV, claiming that the site’s report directly led to the stock crash. “In short, your actions caused serious injury to a number of investors,” Lucid’s chief legal officer and general counsel, Brian Tomkiel, said in the letter. “And they injured, and continue to injure, Lucid directly.”
Still, the timing was terrible. Lucid is genuinely not in good shape, having lost over $1 billion in the first quarter of the year. The company has also gone through two rounds of layoffs in 2026, having cut 12 percent of staff in February and then 18 percent in June. The company also reduced production at its factory in Arizona in a bid to counteract its high inventory and save money. And there’s been leadership turmoil, with COO Marc Winterhoff departing the company and his position being eliminated entirely in an effort to flatten the structure.
The report sent the stock into freefall, plummeting as much as 50 percent in one of the worst single-day drops in Lucid’s history. And with Polestar and Rivian also catching strays, it’s generally been a glum time for companies not named Tesla trying make a go of exclusively building electric vehicles. Wall Street is panicking because the rumors are aligning with the bad news coming out of these companies’ earnings reports. EV sales are stabilizing, but recovery is still a distant promise. The all-electric future seems further away than ever.
Whether or not Lucid is actually weighing Chapter 11, it’s a sure sign of more turbulent waters ahead. Polestar getting strong-armed out of the US over its Chinese ties has left a lot of EV owners and dealers scratching their heads. Rivian is in an increasingly precarious position thanks to its huge, expensive bet on becoming a mass-market car company with the production of the R2.
All of these companies are increasingly reliant on big stakeholders — Lucid with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Polestar with Geely, and Rivian with Volkswagen — for their future survival. If any of these big backers get cold feet, the future could get really dark really fast.
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AssuranceAmerica, an auto insurance provider that works through a network of independent agents, has disclosed a data breach affecting nearly 7 million people. The exposed information includes driver’s license numbers and other personal details tied to auto insurance customers.
The company said it detected suspicious activity on March 17, 2026, after malicious activity targeted one of its employees one day earlier. Investigators later found that an unauthorized third party accessed parts of AssuranceAmerica’s IT environment and copied certain data files.
According to an Indiana Attorney General breach listing, the incident affected 6,998,886 people. A California Attorney General notice also says AssuranceAmerica began notifying affected individuals after completing its file review on June 15, 2026.
AssuranceAmerica sells auto, renters and commercial auto insurance through independent agents. So even if the company name does not sound familiar, your information could still be involved if your policy, quote, claim or driver details passed through its systems.
ADT DATA BREACH EXPOSES CUSTOMER INFORMATION
AssuranceAmerica says a March cyberattack exposed personal information tied to nearly 7 million people, including driver’s license numbers and insurance data. (Felix Zahn/Photothek via Getty Images)
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What happened in the AssuranceAmerica data breach
AssuranceAmerica said the breach started with malicious activity that targeted one employee. The company did not explain exactly how the employee was targeted. However, it said it later disabled compromised credentials and unauthorized sessions.
That detail should get your attention. Many breaches start with one stolen login, one convincing message or one infected device. Once attackers get inside, they can move quickly and look for files worth stealing.
In this case, AssuranceAmerica said an unauthorized third party copied certain data files from its IT environment. The company then reviewed those files to identify affected individuals.
What information was exposed in the AssuranceAmerica breach
AssuranceAmerica said the stolen files contained names plus one or more other types of personal information. That information may include contact details, auto insurance policy or account information, driver or vehicle information, claims-related information and driver’s license numbers. The California notice also says some files may have included Tax ID information and/or Social Security numbers.
That mix can create real risk. A scammer with your name, license number and insurance details may sound much more convincing. They could pretend to be from your insurer, a repair shop, a claims department or a state agency. This follows other identity-document breaches, including the Texas data breach that hit 3 million license customers. Once driver’s license numbers leak, the risk can last much longer than a stolen credit card number.
How AssuranceAmerica responded to the breach
AssuranceAmerica said it took affected server devices offline and hired external forensic specialists to investigate. The company also said it reset passwords, deployed enhanced monitoring and threat detection tools and gave employees more cybersecurity instruction. It also notified law enforcement.
AssuranceAmerica is offering 12 months of complimentary credit monitoring for affected individuals. That can help spot some suspicious activity. However, you still need to watch your insurance account, financial accounts and mail.
Why the AssuranceAmerica breach puts drivers at risk
A driver’s license number can help an imposter build a more believable scam. Insurance information can make that scam feel personal.
For example, a caller may mention your policy, your vehicle or a claim. Then they may ask you to “verify” more information. That is where the damage can grow.
Also, stolen breach data can be matched with public records and data broker profiles. That can give criminals a fuller picture of your life. We have seen the same pattern in scams tied to travel accounts, phone accounts and other breaches, including the Booking.com breach that exposed traveler data to scams.
BEFORE YOU CONNECT ANOTHER SMART TV, TABLET OR PHONE, LOCK IT DOWN
State officials say the breach involved Medicaid, Medicare Savings Program and rehabilitation services records spanning multiple years. (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Ways to stay safe after the AssuranceAmerica data breach
If you receive a notice or think your information may be involved, take these steps now to make the stolen data harder to use.
1) Read the breach notice closely
If you receive a notice from AssuranceAmerica, read it carefully. Check what information the company says may have been exposed in your case. Do not assume every affected person had the same data stolen. Some people may have had driver’s license numbers exposed. Others may also have had Tax ID information or Social Security numbers involved.
2) Use the credit monitoring offer safely
AssuranceAmerica says it is offering 12 months of complimentary credit monitoring. Use the instructions in the official notice. Be careful with emails or texts that claim to offer enrollment links. Scammers often copy real breach language to trick you.
3) Freeze your credit
A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name. You need to place a freeze separately with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free, and you can lift it when you need to apply for credit.
4) Add a fraud alert
A fraud alert tells lenders to take extra steps before opening credit in your name. You can place a fraud alert with one credit bureau, and that bureau should notify the others. This adds another layer of protection if your personal information was exposed.
5) Watch your insurance account
Log in to your insurance account and check for changes you do not recognize. Look for unfamiliar claims, new contact details or strange policy updates. If something looks wrong, call the company using a number from your policy documents.
6) Protect your devices from malware
Credential theft often starts with malware, a bad link or a fake download. Strong antivirus software can help block malicious files and phishing links before they cause damage. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
CARNIVAL BREACH MAY PUT YOUR TRAVEL DATA AT RISK
Strong passwords protect your accounts, but they do not stop data brokers from collecting public records and selling personal information to people-search sites. (Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
7) Clean up your online personal data
Breached data becomes more useful when scammers can match it with your address, relatives, phone number or public records. A data removal service can help reduce what data brokers display about you. That will not undo a breach, but it can make you a harder target. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting CyberGuy.com.
8) Be suspicious of insurance-related calls
If someone calls about your policy, claim or payment, slow down. Do not share verification codes. Do not confirm sensitive details during an unexpected call. Instead, hang up and call the company back through an official number.
9) Check your DMV options
If your driver’s license number was exposed, review your state DMV’s fraud guidance. Some states may offer replacement options or identity theft guidance. The rules vary, so check directly with your state agency.
10) Use a password manager
Create strong, unique passwords for your insurance account, email and financial apps. A password manager can also help you spot fake login pages. If it will not autofill, you may be on a scam site. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at CyberGuy.com.
11) Turn on two-factor authentication
Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for your insurance account, email and financial accounts when available. Use an authenticator app when you can. Text codes are better than nothing, but scammers often target them.
Kurt’s key takeaways
The AssuranceAmerica data breach is a reminder that your driver’s license number has become a high-value target. You may not be able to control how every company stores your information. However, you can make stolen data harder to use. Start with your credit. Then check your insurance account and watch for imposters who know just enough to sound convincing. Also, clean up the personal data already floating around online. The bigger issue is trust. Companies ask for sensitive information because they need it to do business. When that information leaks, you are the one left checking statements, freezing credit and worrying about what comes next.
What should a company owe you when it loses the ID number you use to prove who you are? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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Epic Games and Google have just jointly withdrawn their attempt to retroactively settle the lawsuit that’s changing how Android app stores work in the United States — and that means Google will be forced to carry rival app stores inside of its own. In fact, Google tells the court, it’s ready to begin carrying third-party app stores on Wednesday, July 22nd. Does that mean it’s time for Microsoft to launch an Xbox game store on Android?
But Judge James Donato was skeptical he should abandon his original permanent injunction in favor of Google’s proposed “Registered App Stores” that users would have to sideload — instead of simply downloading third-party stores directly through Google Play. On Thursday, July 16th, both parties were set to appear in court to argue it again, but that may no longer be necessary.
Here’s is Google’s full statement on withdrawing its proposed modifications to Judge Donato’s permanent injunction, via Google spokesperson Dan Jackson:
We’ve agreed with Epic to withdraw our motion to modify the US Court’s injunction rather than prolonging this process which creates uncertainty for the ecosystem. This allows us to focus on executing our recently announced global business model evolution to deliver greater app store choice, lower prices, and more opportunities for developers and users. We remain committed to maintaining Android’s industry-leading security and fostering a competitive ecosystem where every app store and developer has the freedom to compete. In parallel, we continue to comply with the US Court’s injunction.”
Google had previously announced that it would launch its sideloaded Registered App Store program in the rest of the world, beginning with the new version of Android later this year. That means there may be two different tracks for Android: stores-within-a-store in the United States, and Registered App Stores everywhere else.
It’s not yet clear if there will be a parallel “program” for third-party app stores inside of the Google Play Store, or if companies will simply submit them the way they’d submit any other app. Technically, the court’s permanent injunction states that Google “may not prohibit the distribution of third-party Android app distribution platforms or stores through the Google Play Store,” not that it has to proactively invite them in.
For access to the Google Play catalog of apps, Google will charge stores an annual fee of $5,000 for “security and policy reviews,” and it has many additional requirements, including: stores can’t distribute apps outside of the US, have to be open to all eligible third-party developers, have “clear, non-discriminatory” trust and safety policies, and no more than 1 percent of “install attempts” can be malware.
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