VDIK: New government wants to accelerate ramp-up of alternative drives

Commenting on the coalition agreement of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, Reinhard Zirpel, President of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK), says: “With the coalition agreement, the future government partners have now created the basis to reliably govern Germany in the coming years. The international motor vehicle manufacturers wish the traffic light coalition with the future Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz every success.”

Zirpel continued, “An initial analysis of the coalition agreement shows that the future government intends to continue and accelerate the ramp-up of alternative drives and the development of the necessary refueling and charging infrastructure. That is why the extension of the innovation premium for e-vehicles at the current level until the end of 2022, as stipulated in the agreement, is very important. We had repeatedly pointed this out in recent months. The new government should amend the relevant ordinance as one of its first official acts before the end of the year. In this way, a threatened collapse of the e-car market can be averted.” The traffic light coalition wants to tighten regulations for plug-in hybrids. In the future, subsidies are to depend on whether the vehicles can be proven to be driven more than 50 percent electrically. Zirpel: “We are jointly pursuing the goal of significantly increasing the electric driving shares of plug-in hybrids. However, it is crucial that the proof to the authorities can be provided in an uncomplicated and low-bureaucracy manner.”

The agreement also provides for hydrogen and synthetic fuels to be used in the road transport sector in the future. Zirpel: “The VDIK has always called for a technology-open assessment and use of all drive technologies. The international manufacturers are achieving the CO2 targets in different ways. The fact that the traffic light coalition is not blocking these paths but keeping them open is to be welcomed.”