Online national German daily ‘Die Welt’ here reported yesterday that Daimler Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche opposes a mandatory hasty exit from fossil fuel powered automobiles.
Recently Germany’s Federal Council voted to ban the registration of automobiles powered by gasoline or diesel fossil fuel by the year 2030 in a bid to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions. However, a number of Germany’s industrial and political leaders have already come out and called the proposed ban “absurd” and a “fairy tale”.
The German luxury car giant’s CEO told the Club of Hamburg Journalists: “We don’t need in Germany any mandatory measures,” and “Indeed we cannot tell the customers what they have to buy.”
Die Welt adds that “a regulation banning these motors has nothing to do with a market economy. Moreover it destroys the soicio-economic value that has been created by the development and manufacture of gasoline and diesel motors.”
However, Zetsche does say that he expects electric cars to become competitive in the future and that his company will be ready in about 5 to 10 years. By 2025 Zetsche believes 75% of new Daimler-Benz automobiles will still be equipped with internal combustion engines. According to Die Welt, the German CEO plans to launch already in 2019 an electric-driven SUV for the city that will offer a range of 500 kilometers and a charging time of only 30 minutes.
Zetsche also does not think much of government subsidies for electric cars, and says the state rather should focus more on providing the needed infrastructure for electric mobility.
Unfortunately here Zetsche and electric vehicle owners may be waiting a long time for this, as investment in Germany’s green power grid has been scaled back rather than expanded, this being due to an array of economic, financial, social and technical hurdles.
I used an electric bus (Primove, Bombardier) today. They got crazy acceleration and bus drivers in Brunsvik delight in rushing through crossings at dark yellow when driving that beast.
Also, Primove buses have problems with the batteries. As well-informed sources told me. So as long as they’re working they’re big fun.
Photos of the beast.
http://www.golem.de/news/bombardier-primove-braunschweig-bekommt-lange-induktionsbusse-1409-109443.html
By the sound of it Daimler-Benz has their future plans for automotive toys to mostly have ‘batteries not included’, even if subsidized. They appear to be looking out for practical functionality, not the green agenda.
A remarkable turn of honest sanity from an industry player.
SUV for the city, sounds like an oxymoron to me…
SUV itself is an oxymoron IMO