The End is Near

A bold plan by Germany could spell the end of the combustion engine

German Deputy Economy Minister, Rainer Baake, has impudently stated plans for all new cars produced in Germany to be emissions free by 2030 in order to meet the country’s target of reducing emissions by at least 80% by 2050.

With an open driving landscape has left it lagging behind European neighbours the Netherlands, German roads are still dominated by Petrol and Diesel vehicles. The German government plans to incentivise electric vehicle buyers with generous rebates in a plan to have 6 million EV and Hybrid cars registered by 2030.

Large European cities have already made new laws in a bid to reduce emissions. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, recently created controversy when she announced that vehicles made prior to 1997 will be banned from the French capital in peak hours in an attempt to encourage drivers into newer, cleaner cars.

Critics have hit back at Baake’s plan for an increase in electric vehicles with a reminder of the environmental damage that is created in the production of EV battery packs. Research suggests that environmental damage caused during production of EV vehicles could be just as damaging as the environmental damage caused by traditional combustion engines.

German manufacturer BMW has been proactive with the addition of new EV models, the BMW i3 and i8, in 2014. Audi and Mercedes have recently announced that new vehicles will feature 48V electric compressor’s in tandem with traditional turbochargers in a big to reduce emissions without sacrificing performance.