"A climate-change war over cars" was how the business weekly Wirtschaftswoche described the standoff between one of Germany's most vital industries and the bureaucrats in Brussels.

It illustrated its article with a cartoon depicting French President Nicolas Sarkozy jumping on the bonnet of a Mercedes-Benz.

The image recalled that Paris' backing of the planned EU measures is seen by German automakers as a cynical bid to bury Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen while boosting its own car industry, which focuses on smaller models.

"The only thing that really poses a threat to us are bad political decisions taken in Brussels or Berlin," Matthias Wissmann, the head of the German automobile federation VDA, said last week.

He also accused Paris of political foul play.

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) said Germany's makers of big, fuel-guzzling cars indeed stood to lose much if the measures were adopted.

"The implementation of the carbon dioxide targets could hurt them more than expected. The impact on the profit margins of Europe's top-of-the-range producers could be considerable."

Under plans from the Commission, expected to be unveiled Wednesday, new passenger cars would be required to emit on average no more than 120 grammes per kilometre travelled as of 2012, which would represent a cut of about 25 percent from current levels.

Automakers would be required to limit average emissions across their fleet to 130 grammes per kilometer by improving the technology they use.

Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been hailed for her leadership in fighting climate change, has stepped into the fray, saying last week: "We will defend our interests."

But environmental campaigners say the captains of Germany's automobile industry are getting what they deserve.

"It was the Germans who popularised the idea of a big car as a status symbol, and now it has backfired on them," said Greenpeace's Wolfgang Lohbeck.

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