Increase the purchase premium for electric cars
Hendrik Schmidt / DPA
In November, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) sent the completely wrong signal in the debate about the mobility of the future by increasing the purchase premium for electric cars - at least when we talk about how we want to get around in cities. We don't get any further there if we focus on drive types instead of making investments dependent on another resource: space. Any subsidization of private transport aimed at moving empty space through the city is wrong. We should no longer stick to the concept of a car in metropolitan regions. The immense sum of 3.5 billion euros that the federal government now wants to put into building a charging infrastructure for electric cars should be better invested in ways that enable space-saving transport: bicycles and local public transport are classic. Oldie but goldie.
By Lena Frommeyer
125 driving license for everyone
Frank Rumpenhorst / DPA
90 minutes of theory, five hours of driving, and off to the 125cc machine. Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer made headlines with this concept, and shortly before the end of the year the Federal Council approved the proposal. Scheuer wants to enable motorists to drive light motorcycles, against the advice of all experts and ministries. But the plan is not only dangerous, it also does not achieve the minister's goal. Scheuer wanted to use the concept to improve rural mobility - but, as is so often the case, only thought of one group: drivers. Because if you want to get the 125cc license quickly, you have to be older than 25 and have a driving license for at least five years. Those who do not have a driver's license, as before, will be left out of mobility. More rural mobility would also be much safer. With nationwide public transport that travels more often than twice a day. Because those who don't have a license can also use it.
By Emil Nefzger
Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer
FELIPE TRUEBA / EPA-EFE / REX
The annual balance sheet of Andreas Scheuer (CSU) is poor and is not appropriate for the important position of Minister of Transport. Scheuer is reminiscent of a school boy who snaps his finger up at every question and yells "I, I, I". Car toll? Sure, of course! Electric scooter standing? Absolutely! And what did it do? The failed car toll now gives Scheuer an investigative committee, and he also faces lawsuits and taxpayers costs of around 500 million euros. The electric mobility scooters announced as mobility alternatives are unlikely to relieve traffic or the environment. Instead, thousands of them are lying on the sidewalks of the big cities. And these are just a few examples. It is high time that the ministry, which has been led by the CSU for a decade, finally gets a replacement. A sustainable and responsible transport policy is now the order of the day. There will be no scouring.
By Christian Frahm
Continued megalomania
Christoph Schmidt / DPA
An adult consumes around 3000 kilocalories per day on average. However, if he regularly eats - say - 5000 foods, he gets fat. Where these calories come from is insignificant for the fullness. What does that have to do with cars? Quite simply: The vast majority of cars that many users in this country take for granted are in fact oversized - in a figurative sense, they are 5000 kilocalorie carts, where 3000 would suffice. The grotesque now: With the electric cars celebrated as "climate rescue vehicles", this megalomania is seamlessly continued. A few examples from domestic production: Mercedes EQC , 408 hp, 2.5 tons; Audi E-Tron Quattro , 408 hp, 2.5 tons; Porsche Taycan , 680 hp, 2.3 tons. You don't have to be an expert to guess: these cars are too fat - in every respect. In this way, electromobility does not contribute to any positive change.
By Jürgen Pander
BMW X7
Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg / Getty Images
With the X7 , BMW has literally missed a great opportunity. It must have been clear to them that the Bavarians would be placed on the climate changer for an SUV of 5.15 meters in length and weighing 2.3 tons. You built the car anyway - halfheartedly. Because instead of closing the gap with the Rolls- Royce Cullinan or the Bentley Bentayga with more noblesse and for example with lounge chairs in the rear and especially with their V12 engine, the X7 has only become an inflated version of the X5. Only longer, fatter, more expensive and thirstier. However, because the X5 is already more than large and there is nothing missing inside, the X7 becomes superfluous. The customers do not seem to be bothered by the SUV craze - measured by the months of delivery, the luxurious Lulatsch runs well despite the prevented rise.
By Thomas Geiger
Company car regulations for plug-in hybrids
Lev Radin / Pacific Press Agency / imago images
On the one hand, the state is finally capping the premium program for plug-in hybrids if they exceed a certain new price. It's good. With the new company car regulation, however, the experts from Finance Minister Scholz are unpleasantly generous. It entered into force earlier this year. Motorists who use their plug-in hybrid for business as well as for private use can now apply the previously applicable, flat-rate one percent rule to half the gross list price as a monetary advantage. There is no maximum, only two criteria: CO2 emissions below 50 g / km or more than 40 kilometers electrical range. The latter, for example, just manages a basic Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid (113,223 euros). The buyer would have to tax 565 euros less than income per month than with an equally expensive gasoline engine. However, because cars in this segment are often moved over long distances, the benefits of the electric drive fizzle out, the plug-in hybrid then emits considerably more CO2 than many unsupported models and even more so than any diesel in this class.
By Michael Specht
Harley-Davidson LiveWire
Harley-Davidson
Actually, Harley-Davidson's LiveWire has what it takes to be the top motorcycle of 2019: the first electric motorcycle from the American manufacturer could inspire a new generation of motorcycle riders. Stylish design, from zero to one hundred in three seconds, battery capacity of 15.5 kWh, a range of 158 kilometers, as well as high-tech on board to the point of dismissal - that the first large manufacturer finally dares to enter the electrical and future market with a motorcycle, is honorable. Harley-Davidson plans to deliver LiveWire from spring 2020. Preorders have so far only been available in homeopathic doses. This is not least due to the pricing policy of the Americans. Is it snooty, is sheer greed? While comparable e-bikes from Energica or Zero cost around 24,000 euros, Harley-Davidson is calling 32,995 euros for LiveWire. 9000 euros surcharge for a fading brand name, so you don't make new friends.
By Jochen Vorfelder
Urban scooter scourge
Arne Immanuel Bänsch / DPA
In summer the electric scooter tsunami hit Germany. Since the cordless mobiles with handlebars and electric motors have been allowed to hit the streets, they have been particularly noticeable in the big cities as randomly lying electronic waste from the sharing providers, which have not mastered the situation since then. Electric scooters have already landed in tree tops, they are thrown into harbor basins, into the sea, even onto the highway. The sometimes dangerous overreactions show that the project is in the pants. The micromobile does not contribute to the mobility turnaround as hoped. They hardly replace the car, but rather public transport or even footpaths - mostly those of tourists who switch to the shaky boards and endanger themselves in an exuberant holiday mood. Since then, busy streets and bike paths have only become fuller. The so-called "last mile" does not really exist in the city center. It is most likely to be on the outskirts, where the last chance of the battered hope for mobility of the year is waiting. Only: The big money hardly awaits the providers there.
By Stefan Weißenborn
Aerodynamic killer SUV
Martin Schutt / DPA
Who still remembers the Opel Calibra ? The sports coupé was able to call itself "aerodynamics world champion" 30 years ago because of the sensational drag coefficient of 0.26 cw. Audi and other manufacturers also went out of their way to build the most streamlined cars possible. Because for fuel consumption, aerodynamics at speeds from 60 km / h is the decisive factor. And today? SUV fashion nullifies all efforts. Manufacturers continue to send their new models into the wind tunnel. However, the aerodynamics depend not only on the drag coefficient, but also on the face. And here, SUVs with the front of a bookshelf do significantly worse than classic sedans or station wagons. Take Opel, for example: Astra and Insignia are streamlined. But the top sellers among customers are Crossland X , Mokka X and Grandland X - across Europe. Across brands, the highest growth rates for years have been in the SUV segment. The result: fuel consumption and CO2 emissions increase.
By Haiko Prengel
A fair to forget
SASCHA STEINBACH / EPA-EFE / REX
In autumn 2019 it was finally clear what has been emerging for a long time: If the Frankfurt auto show IAA does not change drastically, then it will soon be history. The trade fair motto was "Driving Tomorrow", but there was little to see. In advance, the IAA met with as much protest as never before. In view of what was sold in Frankfurt as the mobility of the future, it is hardly surprising that tens of thousands of people would rather take to the streets to protest rather than walk through the exhibition halls with interest. Around 25 car brands stayed away from the IAA. And those who came relied on the tried and tested in new packaging. Numerous manufacturers sold SUV models weighing several tons under the guise of plug-in hybrid or electric car as innovative mobility concepts. This is no longer well received. Compared to the fair four years ago, in autumn 2015, the number of visitors had almost halved. Just under 560,000 people came to Frankfurt
By Martin Wittler
Speed limit debate
Jens Büttner / DPA
In brief, in 2019 you had the feeling that the speed limit debate was moving , there were heated discussions, all over the country. Then in October the showdown in the Bundestag: 126 votes in favor, 498 against. The facts are clear: environmental pollution would be reduced (low, but nonetheless), traffic would become more fluent, and the risk of accidents would be drastically reduced. Why the rejection? It is sometimes said that the speed limit speaks "against common sense" (Andreas Scheuer, CSU) or is an "ideological demand" (Karl Holmeier, CSU). It was also heard that personal freedom was in danger. But does that really apply where others are endangered? The fact that populist phrases prevail against facts is symptomatic. A compromise? Probably not coming! Speed limit at 150? Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. There are solutions to make the streets safer, cleaner and more comfortable - but the topic is off the table again. What a flop!
By Matthias Kriegel
The electric car study by Hans-Werner Sinn
Maxim Sergienko
Are electric cars actually dirtier than diesel or petrol? That was the assertion in the spring of Hans-Werner Sinn , ex-head of the Munich Economic Research Institute ifo. He and two co-authors calculated that a Tesla Model 3 caused significantly more carbon dioxide (CO2) than a Mercedes C 220d - because a lot of coal electricity was needed to manufacture and operate the electric cars. However, there are many problems with the study. So she only compares two car models and concludes that battery technology is generally inferior. In addition, Sinn makes numerous questionable assumptions. The energy-intensive electric car battery is ready for scrap after 150,000 kilometers. It is now becoming apparent that the batteries last longer. Sinn also referred to a controversial study with outdated data on the CO2 intensity of the batteries. It was last updated. Bizarre looks like the meaning of European electric car funding: French car industry and EU institutions would have conspired to do so - to harm the German automotive industry with its successful combustion cars.
By Nil's concern
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