Gas-powered rental cars could vanish by 2032 under leaked EU plan

Planning a European road trip in the next decade? You might want to get comfortable with the idea of plugging in. While the European Union's widely discussed ban on new gasoline and diesel car sales for the public is set for 2035, your next rental car could be forced to be electric much sooner. A new report from Germany suggests that officials in Brussels are quietly drafting a plan that could effectively eliminate gas-powered options from major rental fleets as early as 2030.

According to the German newspaper Bild, which cited unnamed sources within the European Commission, a proposal is being developed that would target fleet operators. Under this plan, rental car companies like Sixt and Europcar, along with other large corporations, would be banned from purchasing new internal combustion engine vehicles starting in 2030.

From that point forward, any new additions to their fleets would have to be electric cars. The EU Commission has acknowledged it is working on new vehicle regulations but has so far declined to confirm the specifics of this reported plan.

For the average traveler, the effects of such a rule would be felt almost immediately. Rental car companies typically operate on a short ownership cycle, replacing their vehicles every one to two years. If they can no longer buy new gasoline models after 2030, the existing gas cars in their fleets would quickly age out. By 2032, it's likely that finding a gasoline or diesel car to rent for a trip through the Alps or along the Mediterranean coast would become nearly impossible. Renters would have little choice but to opt for one of the available EVs.

Currently, electric cars make up a small portion of rental offerings. They are often more expensive to hire and have proven less popular with customers who may be unfamiliar with charging or concerned about range. Various reports have also indicated that EVs can be more expensive to repair after minor accidents, adding another layer of cost for the rental companies.

The implications of this proposed regulation extend far beyond the rental counter. It could serve as a powerful backdoor method to accelerate the continent's transition to electric cars. Fleet sales are the lifeblood of the European auto market, accounting for 60 percent of all new car registrations. Rental companies alone make up about a fifth of that total. By forcing this massive segment of the market to go all-electric five years ahead of the general public, the EU would drastically cut the number of new gasoline cars hitting the road.

This could trigger a domino effect across the entire automotive industry. With the guaranteed bulk orders from fleet customers gone, automakers might see little reason to continue producing a wide variety of gasoline-powered models. It could become unprofitable to keep assembly lines running for a shrinking private market, leading them to scale back their ICE offerings well before the 2035 deadline.

This would, in turn, have a big impact on the used car market. Fewer new gas cars sold to fleets means fewer one-to-two-year-old gas cars available for sale to the public, limiting affordable options for buyers who aren't ready or able to switch to EVs. This rapid change could also speed up the difficult transition for auto industry workers, whose jobs are tied to the manufacturing of traditional engines and components.

Via (German)