As of: March 27, 2024, 6:36 p.m
By: Amy Walker
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Press
Split
The ban on new cars with combustion engines, which is due to take effect in the EU from 2035, is meeting resistance.
The CDU Economic Council is now taking a clear position: the ban on combustion engines comes too early.
Berlin – It was almost a year ago that the European Union agreed to ban combustion engines from 2035.
From this date onwards, no newly registered vehicles in the EU will be allowed to emit CO₂;
They must therefore be operated with either electric drive or another alternative fuel (so-called e-fuels).
But even a year after the decision, there is resistance to the plans.
In addition, European elections are coming up this summer - if there were a significant shift in the majorities, a change in the regulations would be entirely conceivable.
Especially since the CDU's Economic Council is now also venturing out of cover and telling
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."
“Ban on combustion engines in eleven years is completely unrealistic”: Economic Council calls for more time
“The date of the combustion engine ban in eleven years is completely unrealistic,” says Wolfgang Steiger, Secretary General of the CDU Economic Council, to this editorial team.
“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.”
At least this position is also shared by the “car pope” Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, who examined exactly this development in more detail in a study published this week.
Accordingly, car manufacturers such as VW, BMW, Stellantis & Co. are trying to boost sales of gasoline and diesel models with high discounts.
This is shown by the analysis of the discounts in March.
Accordingly, the discounts when buying a combustion engine are on average even higher than for electric cars.
The impending end of combustion engines in the EU hovers over the (German) auto industry like a sword of Damocles.
© IMAGO/Christian Ohde
After the purchase bonus for electric cars in Germany expired at the end of 2023, manufacturers initially significantly increased the discounts for electric cars in order to compensate for the loss of the bonus.
In the meantime, however, a change in thinking can be seen, says Dudenhöffer.
In view of the overall weak demand, attempts are being made to stimulate business with the still dominant combustion engines and thus utilize the company's own factories to capacity.
According to Dudenhöffer, Habeck is to blame for the stumbling auto industry
According to the Bochum expert, the manufacturers are not to blame for the development.
“It wasn’t the car manufacturers who destroyed the electric car, it was the politicians,” said the car expert in
Wirtschaftswoche
.
He identifies Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) as the main person responsible, who would rather take care of “cloud cuckoo homes” such as green steel production than the automobile industry.
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In 2026, the combustion ban in the EU will be examined again, i.e. whether the 2035 goal can still be achieved or not.
Wolfgang Steiger sees a lot of catching up to do in the auto industry to ensure that this really happens: “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.”
The Court of Auditors warned in January: the transport transition must move faster
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.
The Court of Auditors criticized the hurdles that stand in the way of a faster turnaround: high prices for electric cars and inadequate charging infrastructure, with serious gaps, especially in the southern and eastern EU countries with low per capita income.
The authority therefore recommends that the EU Commission prescribe a minimum quota for zero-emission cars to car manufacturers.
As a tightening measure for combustion cars, she recommends an upper limit for actual CO₂ emissions.