BMW warns that despite an exemption for e-fuels, the EU secretly wants to ban the combustion engine.
UIIIIIIRROOOOOOOOPA is working very hard to ban the combustion engine. But under pressure from the German car industry in particular, it finally made a concession last year. From 2035, combustion engines in cars would be banned for good. But an exception was made for cars with combustion engines that run on e-fuels.
Experienced veterans knew that; ah, so we’re going to continue on the same path. But, among others, Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW, thinks differently about that. We recently wrote that the honcho is very critical of the EU rules. BMW is an outspoken advocate of continuing with the combustion engine, in a mix with other forms of drive. In itself, it is nice to see that Zipse is so busy with 2035. After all, the good man must also realize that he will no longer be the CEO of the company by then, normally. But he has his heart in the business, apparently.
As simple as the exception for e-fuels seems, it is not. This solution is only a solution if large quantities of e-fuel are produced, for an acceptable price. That is one. But there are also, as always, rules drawn up by the EU to make the use of e-fuels less attractive.
Sensor
By 2035, the EU will require combustion engines to have a sensor that measures whether there is actually e-fuel in the tank. If not, the engine will not be allowed to start when the key is turned (read: the start button is pressed). So don’t think you can just fill up your new Porsche 995 GT3 RS with old-fashioned petrol and pretend you don’t care.
BMW thinks that the EU secretly wants to ban the combustion engine in this way. Not by literally banning it, but by making it so impossible that nobody wants it anymore. A bit like the Ford Mustang GT that has been banned in the Netherlands for years. Whereof note.
Comments
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Hawkeye72 say
How on earth do we get rid of the EU and its meddling!
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Richmond say
Move to another continent
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Rick-dos say
So what the EU has stated is: ‘e-fuels are fine as long as you make sure that it is actually e-fuels that are burned in the engine’. Well, if you would use a little bit of your grey matter in your upper room, you would come to the conclusion that it is no more than logical.
But calling it ‘secretly’ seems like ‘meddling’ to the simple ones among us.
And making the software for it shouldn’t be that hard. After all, they also wrote software for diesels a few years ago to meet environmental regulations. If they can invest time and money in that, they can also make software for e-fuels so that the engine doesn’t start if no e-fuel is used.If BMW wants to have a combustion engine, they should invest in research and production of e-fuels, just like Porsche. If they also invest in infrastructure, like Tesla did with their charging station, then perhaps we still have a future with a combustion engine.
Much better idea than sitting there whining that it’s all unfair and acting a bit stupid about it being ‘secret’.
