“Why a combustion ban is dangerous wishful thinking”

The combustion engine does not have a future, but a ban would be counterproductive, writes Lukas Bay in an analysis in business daily Handelsblatt. “The assumption that [a ban] would make German carmakers crisis-proof for a post-fossil age is wrong. The opposite is more likely: The German car industry would be disabled by a combustion ban.” Bay argues that a ban would throw carmakers’ financial plans into chaos: E-mobility requires massive investments, but no carmaker is yet making a profit with electric cars. Bay argues the government should do more to stop the companies investing the majority of their research budgets into combustion technology. “Reducing subsidies for the combustion engine, and environmentally friendly emission limits would be a good instrument,” writes Bay.

Please Note: The Clean Energy Wire will publish a dossier on the prospects for German car makers in a renewable mobility future in the coming days.

For general background, read the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s transport sector.