Is it to be believed who shouts the loudest? Or the one who looks deepest? The question arises in relation to a rigid speed limit on motorways, where the coalition-negotiating policy is further than those advocates who consistently hide the opportunities and superiority of intelligent traffic control from their arguments. It arises in the concept of diesel subsidy, which is also and especially fueled by the Federal Environment Agency, which is a very steep thesis in view of around 65 percent of taxes and duties per liter. It is raised in the debate about an allegedly existing company car privilege, as if a considerable amount of pecuniary benefit was not taxable. The car is apparently suitable for a variety of types of start-up,regardless of whether they have substance and justify progress or not.
The drive of the future is particularly hotly debated. The political directional decision seems to have been made in favor of the battery-electric motor, and there are vehement supporters from industry such as the CEO of VW, Herbert Diess. But it seems to everyone that humanity is still far from being convinced. The first ten, fifteen percent are easy to win, the rest of the way is much more difficult. It is not for nothing, here the term is really correct, that subsidies are granted generously. Who is against a bet that sales would collapse if the purchase premiums were now to be discontinued?
For many people, the hurdles of electric locomotion are higher than the convenience gained.
It will stay that way for a while.
The realization that a 500 kilogram battery with its resource consumption is not the last word in wisdom may also give food for thought.
The way is still long
Like what Oliver Zipse says.
The man is Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW and is therefore inherently interested in customers trusting him and his engineers.
In the past few days, remarkable things have been said about him on various occasions.
Electromobility has fully arrived in everyday life, BMW is feeling this in the orders for electric cars, which have increased significantly.
But the charging infrastructure is not keeping pace. The growth in electric cars exceeds that of charging capacities in Germany by a factor of 5. In many EU countries there is no usable charging network at all. There is still a long way to go, but every gram of CO2 avoided today counts for climate protection. “Why should we commit ourselves to just one technical solution ahead of time, if this means that considerable potential remains unused in the here and now?” Asks Zipse rhetorically.
BMW will continue to develop conventional gasoline and diesel engines, including with 48-volt technology, which could quickly save up to 20 percent CO2. In addition, there is no alternative to existing vehicles other than the use of e-fuels; without synthetic fuels for the 200 million vehicles on the EU's roads, the climate protection goals would be unattainable, no matter how many electric cars come on the market. For them, in turn, the overall impression they have left over the life cycle is decisive.
Small inset from another source, a text in Spiegel magazine: A Tesla S needs about as much lithium as 10,000 cell phones.
An electric car and its drive battery contain six times as many critical raw materials as a model with a combustion engine, especially copper, graphite, cobalt and nickel.
“We can no longer think in fragments,” demands the BMW boss.
That's the way it is.