CDU leader Friedrich Merz has spoken out against the EU-wide ban on internal combustion engines from 2035. In doing so, he agrees with the opinion of many car experts who doubt the future of e-mobility.
Berlin - The chairman of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, has once again taken a clear position against the ban on internal combustion engines in the EU in an interview. “A technology should be banned for which there is no replacement yet,” he said in an interview with
Handelsblatt
. “The Americans wouldn’t think of something like that.”
The CDU Economic Council recently made a similar statement to
IPPEN.MEDIA
. “We must not drive voters into the arms of the enemies of Europe because such ideological and bureaucratic approaches are being pursued as the ban on combustion engines,” said its General Secretary Wolfgang Steiger at the end of March. He considers the goal of having increased electromobility to such an extent that new registrations of combustion engines are no longer necessary by 2035 to be “completely unrealistic”.
The ban on combustion engines will be put to the test in 2026
At the beginning of 2024, the European Court of Auditors warned that Europe was still lagging far behind in the transport transition. “Despite ambitious goals and strict requirements, most cars on Europe’s roads still emit as much CO₂ as they did twelve years ago,” said a special report published in January. The European Union can only achieve its climate protection goals by switching to locally emission-free electric cars. “However, efforts to achieve this would need to be stepped up a gear,” warned the auditors, because the market share of electric cars is only just under 15 percent.
In 2026, the combustion ban in the EU will be examined again, i.e. whether the 2035 goal can still be achieved or not. With European elections coming up in June 2024, the discussion about the ban on combustion engines is currently heating up again.
Wolfgang Steiger sees a lot of catching up to do in the auto industry so that the goal can be achieved: “European vehicles must be financially affordable and competitive with sufficient range. There is also a lack of charging infrastructure, especially for fast charging. In addition, the climate friendliness of e-mobility across the entire supply chain – just think of lithium and cobalt extraction – as well as recycling needs to be greatly improved.”
“Decarbonizing the transport sector is a right and important undertaking. But this should be done with a sense of proportion and pragmatism and not be forced by ideological concepts.” Both customers and manufacturers are increasingly doubting electric cars, Steiger continued, which is why more combustion engines are being sold again. “Outside Europe, our competitors in the USA and the Far East continue to rely on combustion engine technology in addition to the development of electric models.” Friedrich Merz also points this out in the
Handelsblatt
interview: “In the USA and in many other countries around the world they are working on it new technologies instead of bans.”
Merz attacks: “It’s just a mystery to me how Olaf Scholz could let it get this far.”
In an interview with the newspaper, Merz also criticized the general economic policy of the traffic light coalition and particularly criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD): “Chancellor Scholz constantly lectures everyone that the economic situation is great. And anyone who doesn't understand that, in his opinion, has no idea. It makes me wonder what world Olaf Scholz is actually in.” The economy is “extremely dissatisfied” with the government, but the Chancellor doesn’t want to hear this dissatisfaction. “This is a one-off event and is damaging to the entire country. It’s just a mystery to me how Olaf Scholz was able to let it get this far.”
According to the Bundesbank, the German economy did grow in the first quarter. Real gross domestic product (GDP) “may have increased slightly,” according to the April monthly report published on Thursday (April 18). In February, the Bundesbank was still expecting a minus - that would have meant entering a recession after the GDP fell by 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2023.
The economy has brightened somewhat, but a thorough recovery is not yet assured, it said. The more positive expectations are “supported by somewhat higher industrial production recently”. In addition, construction production rose “extraordinarily strongly” in February due to the exceptionally mild weather.
However, the negative factors continued: increased financing costs and increased economic policy uncertainty dampened companies' investment activity. Demand for industrial products from home and abroad remains weak and tends to continue to decline.
With material from AFP