European supercar makers have been given a reprieve on their switch to electrification

The European Union has agreed to give low-volume manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren an exemption from stricter average CO2 targets coming in at the end of this decade.

It means the supercar makers now only really need to plan for the 2035 blanket ban on combustion-engined cars.

Originally only carmakers building fewer than 1,000 vehicles per year were going to be exempt from new, halfway house targets - which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent compared to 1990 levels - coming at the end of 2029.

But the latest directive extends that to all those building less than 10,000 cars or 22,000 vans per year.

That means pretty much all of the big-name supercar manufacturers in Europe will be allowed to set their own targets en route to the 2035 internal combustion ban, with larger manufacturers adhering to the five-year increments.

Of course, we already know that Ferrari is planning to release its all-electric supercar in 2025, with Lamborghini planning a 2+2 electric GT by the end of the decade.

TEXT Greg Potts