Instead of banning the sale of combustion engine cars in 2035, the EU should let the market decide between EVs and vehicles powered by biofuels or synthetic fuels, said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

"There is not only e-mobility, which is fascinating, there are also alternatives," Lindner said in an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper published Wednesday.

"The market should then decide what is economical and what consumers want, not politicians and civil servants," the leader of Germany's liberals added.

Last year, the EU finalized legislation to end the sale of new diesel or gasoline cars and vans by 2035.

Germany threw up a last-minute effort to block the legislation, which was overcome thanks to a compromise allowing a workaround for e-fuels — a synthetic, greener alternative to gasoline.

"Against the resistance of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, we managed to ensure that there will be an exception to the ban on combustion engines in 2035 if vehicles are powered by synthetic fuels," Lindner said.

"But we should go further and focus on technological openness in general," he added, noting that "synthetic liquid fuels and biofuels are also a way to achieve climate friendliness."

Lindner also mentioned a draft bill on German tax rules that would allow what he called "climate-friendly fuels" to be taxed in the same way as electromobility, something he said would "send a signal to the industry that the federal government is serious about technological freedom."