E-car: 1 euro for 100 kilometers - VW boss surprises with forecast

Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess believes that falling electricity prices will make electric driving dirt cheap at some point.

The electric car could even stabilize the power grid.

Wolfsburg - Electricity prices are currently higher than they have been in twelve years.

According to various forecasts, this trend is set to continue.

But what does that mean for e-mobility?

Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess is calm about the price trend.

He predicts a bright future for the electric car and a cheap one for the driver.

"Electricity is not getting more and more expensive, electricity will be cheaper in the long run," said the VW boss of

.

Even today, green electricity would only cost around five cents per kilowatt hour to generate.

"With that I would drive a hundred kilometers in an electric car for about one euro if I only look at the generation and exclude the EEG surcharge and distribution costs," explained Diess.

VW boss Herbert Diess predicts falling electricity prices - but there are problems

The problem with the Volkswagen boss's bill: At the moment, the supply of green electricity is lagging behind the increasing demand.

More and more electric cars are entering the streets, and they only make sense in terms of air conditioning if they are charged with renewable electricity.

In addition, the industry is increasingly turning to green electricity.

With the nuclear phase-out in 2022 and the end of coal-fired power plants by 2038 at the latest, green electricity will finally be in short supply if the expansion of renewable energies does not accelerate soon.

There is currently still a lot of room for improvement in the expansion of wind power: distance obligations, lengthy area designations and tough approval procedures are slowing down.

Experts have been warning for some time that the current expansion rate is not enough to master the climate change and keep electricity prices stable.

VW boss Diess: E-cars are already cheaper than combustion engines today

Even if the road to the green future is still a long way: The VW boss could be right with his cheap promise.

With average electricity production costs from 3.12 and four cents per kilowatt hour, solar systems and wind turbines are the two cheapest generation technologies for electricity.

According to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the costs of conventional energy sources are much higher.

Consumers don't notice much of the low price, because the state artificially increases prices through levies such as the EEG surcharge, network charges and taxes.

Despite high electricity prices, electric cars are often the cheaper alternative to combustion engines. According to the ADAC, in addition to lower energy costs, lower maintenance and repair costs are responsible for this. Driving a car could therefore become much cheaper in the future than it is today - and the electric car could even become a source of income for its owner. Electric cars are perfect power storage, says VW boss Diess. They could be charged at night when electricity is cheapest - and then give off electricity when it is expensive.