Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

German transport minister reverses from 15 million electric vehicles goal

Published 17/01/2022, 16:28
Updated 17/01/2022, 16:33
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: General secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) Volker Wissing  arrives for exploratory talks to build a new German government coalition, in Berlin, Germany, October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: General secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) Volker Wissing arrives for exploratory talks to build a new German government coalition, in Berlin, Germany, October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's goal of getting 15 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 includes fully-electric and hybrid vehicles, the transport minister said on Monday, in a retreat from a pledge in the coalition government's agreement late last year.

"We want electrically powered vehicles. Of course, hybrids also make a contribution to this," Volker Wissing of the liberal democratic party told a conference organised by Handelsblatt newspaper, in a hint of friction over the issue between the greens and other parties.

The coalition agreement released last November said the new government intended to target "at least 15 million fully-electric passenger vehicles in 2030".

This was a step up from the previous administration's goal of 14 million electrified vehicles by then, of which at least ten million were to be fully-electric.

Hybrid vehicles, seen by some as a transition product as companies and governments build the infrastructure for large-scale use of fully-electric cars, have been criticised by environmental groups for being at least as damaging as their fossil-fuel equivalents because of infrequent charging and their weight, which means they use more fuel.

Around half of the just over one million electrified vehicles on German roads so far are hybrids, with the other half fully-electric, car authority KBA says.

"We agreed on a clear goal in the coalition agreement of at least 15 million fully-electric passenger vehicles by 2030," Green MP and transport policy expert Stefan Gelbhaar, told Reuters, adding it was crucial to reducing emissions.

"I am confident that Transport Minister Volker Wissing will make clear and swift progress here."

Touching on another problematic issue, Wissing was also careful in comments to the Handelsblatt not to exclude the possibility of powering combustion engine cars with synthetic fuels - a policy his party supports but others in the coalition do not.

E-fuels, made by combining hydrogen with carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere, provide an environmentally-friendly means to power combustion engine cars - but producing them is costly and requires large amounts of renewable energy to make them carbon-neutral.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: General secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) Volker Wissing  arrives for exploratory talks to build a new German government coalition, in Berlin, Germany, October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo

In an interview with Der Spiegel last week, Wissing had said that e-fuels were in short supply and so should only be used for industries such as shipping and aviation.

Following criticism from Germany's auto association, which is among those to say e-fuels should not be discarded, Wissing said to Handelsblatt on Monday that "technological openness" was paramount - and that e-fuels may be used for heavy-duty vehicles.

Latest comments

Less government red tape and more innovation, please! Germany just keeps digging itself deeper and deeper into its own grave.
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.