EU ban on combustion engine cars off table, EPP's Weber says

FRANKFURT, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Plans to impose an effective ban on selling new cars with combustion engines in the European Union have been abandoned, a senior EU lawmaker told German mass tabloid Bild on Thursday.

Instead, there will be more flexible rules to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from cars, Manfred Weber, president of the EPP, the largest party in the European Parliament, was quoted as saying.

"For new registrations from 2035 onwards, a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions will now be mandatory for car manufacturers' fleet targets, instead of 100%," Weber told the paper.

"There will also be no 100% target from 2040 onwards. This means that the technology ban on combustion engines is off the table. All engines currently manufactured in Germany can therefore continue to be produced and sold."

Weber said this sent an important signal "to the entire automotive industry and secures tens of thousands of industrial jobs", reflecting concerns over the future of one of Europe's most important industries.

EU governments, including Germany and Italy, and several automakers have been lobbying for softer regulation, which currently sets a goal to cut carbon emissions from new cars to zero by 2035, effectively banning sales of new combustion-engine vehicles.

Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, Stellantis STLAM.MI, Renault RENA.PA, Mercedes-Benz MBGn.DE and BMW BMWG.DE have all argued in favour of dropping the ban, instead letting customers decide what they want rather than having firm targets.