The latest proposed C02 emissions mandate put forward by the European Commission, which calls for a reduction of corporate average C02 to just 95 g/km by 2020, down from a current level of 130 g/km, has been criticized by Germany’s major automakers, primarily because their respective lineups are skewed towards big and powerful offerings.

The German government agrees and has managed to convince other European Union ministers to scrap the mandate, which it says would cost jobs and hurt automakers. The ministers will now work to finalize a new mandate in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.

A rival proposal put forward by the German government calls for a delay in the full implementation of the 95 g/km target until 2024. This would afford the automakers more time to introduce more fuel-efficient offerings such as plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars, which help reduce corporate average C02 levels.

Understandably, proponents of the original mandate are unhappy with the latest decision. They claim the 95 g/km limit would have reduced Europe’s dependency on oil imports significantly. Analysts have estimated that under the mandate the EU could have saved up to 70 billion euros ($94.94 billion) annually on fuel.

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