The sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles is to be gradually reduced by 2035- according to the previously valid plan. But critical voices fear that this combustion engine could weaken the German car industry. Wrongly how a new scientific strategy paper now suggests. The key message: Only if we hold on to the combustion engine can we continue to assert ourselves on the international automotive market.
The European Union has obliged the automotive industry to gradually stop selling new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035. This should also arrive on the roads and dominate electromobility in traffic. But in this country there are always critical voices that consider this project to be a big mistake. Specifically, they fear that the combustion engine is bad for business and that the German car industry will weaken. But will it really happen?
It doesn’t work without a combustion
In order to find out how the combustion engine could affect the German car industry, several research institutes-including the University of Oldenburg and the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS)-have now developed a common strategy paper. The assessments and recommendations pronounced therein are based on analyzes of corporate strategies and extensive interviews with managers and industry insiders. The key message: The combustion engine will strengthen Germany’s auto industry instead of harming it.
“The best thing that politics can do is to ensure investment security and to capture the ambitious European schedule of exit from the sale of internal combustion engines,” summarizes Karoline Rogge from the University of Sussex, which coordinated the strategy paper.
This recommendation essentially is based on two teaching sentences: “You have to go over time” and “the competition does not sleep”. While change towards electromobility undoubtedly represents a large upheaval, it is at the same time inevitable, as the researchers emphasize. If it is not done quickly enough in Germany, this would only increase the competition of the competition – for example from China. China’s success could also be a role model for the German approach. “Stable and long -term political framework conditions are a main reason for China’s quick transition to electromobility. You have made a decisive contribution to positioning the country as a global pioneer, ”the strategy paper says. “Without clear regulatory signals, companies often hesitate to fully engage in new emission -free technologies. This can lead to inertia. “
Politics is also in demand
However, in order to continue to keep up internationally, an exit from diesel and petrol would even be too short in the opinion of the researchers: “Additional political measures are crucial for success. Now it is important to boost European demand for electric vehicles. ” Specifically, more e-car purchase incentives for low-income households are to be created and subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels are to be lifted. At the same time, when changing the car industry, employees and suppliers should not be forgotten, as the researchers emphasize. They should receive further training and programs for professional reorientation.
Source: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn; Strategy paper (PDF)))