Germany ahead charging
Nation’s goal is one million EVs on the road by 2020
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany will need to provide more incentives to meet a goal of having one million electric cars on the country’s roads by 2020.
“There’s a lot to do,” Merkel said during a recent press conference in Berlin. “We see that further subsidies are necessary. We must speak with the German states about that.”
Merkel is far behind in her push for one million electric vehicles in part because her government has balked at incentives like those offered in France, where consumers receive as much as 6,300 euros (US$7,840) to help cover the higher cost of lowemission vehicles. Electric car sales in Germany last year amounted to about 7,600 vehicles, while in France demand was almost double that at 14,400.
While deliveries this year have jumped about 68 per cent, “we’re far from our goal to establish Germany as a leading market for electromobility,” said Matthias Wissmann, president of German auto-industry lobby VDA. “The government needs to act” to spur demand such as providing corporate tax breaks for electric cars.
The chancellor is trying to reduce emissions by pushing the country’s auto industry to build more electric cars after French, Japanese and American carmakers got off to an early lead. German auto manufacturers will offer 17 electric models by the end of 2014 and another 12 will go on sale next year, according to the VDA.
Merkel’s cabinet announced plans in September to offer electric-car buyers special privileges, backing a bill that would enable municipalities to offer drivers of battery-powered cars, fuel cell vehicles and some plug-in hybrids free parking and the right to use bus lanes.
There are about 24,000 electric vehicles on German roads currently and the country has 4,800 charging stations, said Henning Kagermann, a former chief executive of software-maker SAP who is heading the government’s electric-car effort. Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Germany will add 400 stations at rest stops along the autobahn network to make it possible to travel across the country with electric vehicles.
“We need a super-charger infrastructure where you can charge 80 per cent of the battery in 15 minutes,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. “The government can help to establish standards for plugs to make the charging stations accessible for vehicles of all brands. We’re still very much in the wild electro west.”
Zero-emission vehicles from German automakers include BMW’s i3 city car as well as electric versions of the Smart two-seater and Mercedes-Benz B-Class. Volkswagen sells the Up! and Golf with electric motors. The offerings follow the entry into the market of Tesla’s S Model, Nissan’s Leaf and General Motors’ Volt.
Germany was a transport pioneer when it opened Europe’s first car-only highway in 1921 in Berlin. Its freewheeling autobahn, which often doesn’t have a speed limit, has spurred a motoring culture, helping BMW, Mercedes and VW’s Audi and Porsche brands to dominate the market for high-end cars.
The government also announced plans for a conference next summer in Berlin to discuss how the country can make further progress in electro-mobility.