The European Union is expected to announce changes to its current targets to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in a significant U-Turn which will dismay climate protestors.

Brussels has been awash with talk over the change in policy amid the EU’s concerns over the capabilities of European vehicle manufacturers to compete with their Chinese rivals.

While  the EU has announced it will be making a statement today in a “clearer” set of targets it is widely expected to water down the single market’s rules aimed at transitioning the automotive sector away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

Under the current plans new petrol and diesel cars will be phased out of the continent’s roads within a decade.

However, in recent months there has been growing pressure from half a dozen member states who have sought to rethink the ban and that pressure looks to have forced a rethink.

“The European Commission will be putting forward a clear proposal to abolish the ban on combustion engines,” Manfred Weber, head of the European Parliament’s largest group, the European People’s Party, said on Friday. “It was a serious industrial policy mistake.”

While the contents of the statement to be made today have yet to be released experts believe that the EU is likely to announce a five-year extension for the use of combustion engines until 2040, in plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) that include a fuel-powered range extender. The strategy will be to look to new biofuels to power combustion engines.

The news of a change in directions has not been met with universal support from the motor industry with Polestar’s CEO Michael Lohscheller saying it will leave Europe falling behind its rivals ion the use of electric technology.

“The technology is ready, charging infrastructure is ready, and consumers are ready,” he explained. “So what are we waiting for?”

Europe’s carmakers are making EVs but say demand has lagged expectations as consumers are reluctant to buy more expensive EVs and charging infrastructure is insufficient. EU tariffs on Chinese-built EVs have only slightly eased the pressure.

Last week saw Ford and Renault announce a new partnership to build a new breed of electric vehicles.

At the launch Jim Farley, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company said: “The strategic partnership with Renault Group marks an important step for Ford and supports our strategy to build a highly efficient and fit-for-the future business in Europe. We will combine Renault Group’s industrial scale and EV assets with Ford’s iconic design and driving dynamics to create vehicles that are fun, capable, and distinctly Ford in spirit.”

In the UK Leadetr of the opposition Kemi Badenoch has said if the Conservatives are voted back into power at the next election, she will scrape the UK’s current plan to ban the manufacture of internal combustion engines after 2025.

At present the UK says all new cars will have to be electric or hybrid from 2030, with hybrids allowed to be sold until 2035, the EU was planning to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.

Badenoch said her party would scrap the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, calling the mandate a “well-meaning” but ultimately “destructive piece of legislation”, to give “space” for the UK’s car industry to rebuild.

She added: “The reality is that the EU’s change of heart on EVs will leave Labour even more isolated, and by pressing ahead alone, we are placing our domestic industry at a disadvantage while giving others the opportunity to dominate global supply chains.”