March 7, 2020 – Since January, the EU has stipulated an emissions limit of 95 grams of CO2 for vehicle fleets. The limits on large, heavy vehicles are not quite as strict. This year, manufacturers will still be allowed to exclude the five percent of their fleets with the worst values from the calculation, but the regulation will become more stringent starting in 2021. For each gram over the limit, manufacturers will be subject to a fine of 95 euros, and that per car sold. The EU plans to gradually lower the threshold to 59 grams by 2030. German car manufacturers are working at full speed to prepare for the imminent tightening of carbon emissions regulations.

Volkswagen is seeking to manufacture purely battery-operated vehicles, thus bowing out of their long-term goal of developing cars which run on natural gas. According to Daimler Chairman Källenius, the Stuttgart-based group will markedly ramp up the production of electric cars. The number of e-vehicles is expected to jump to several tens of thousands this year, quickly reaching one hundred thousand thereafter. BMW is placing far more emphasis on plug-in hybrids, which combine combustion engines and electric motors.

BMW CEO Zipse is confident that the group will meet the carbon emission targets imposed by the EU. The Munich-based automotive manufacturer expects to lower its average carbon dioxide emissions rate by 20 percent. Two-thirds of CO2 emission cuts are to be achieved with electric cars and one-third by improving conventional internal combustion engines.

A current Deloitte study predicts that the share of newly registered plug-in hybrids and electric cars will increase to 11 percent this year and rise to 34 percent by 2026. The proportion of SUVs is expected to rise to 41 percent, of which 40 percent will be equipped with plug-in hybrid technology or electric drives. This is only true of 32 percent of other cars.

Source: DER SPIEGEL (in German)

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