Is the ban on combustion engines now coming to an end?
“This is sick!” Former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg waves air at himself with his right hand while holding his AMG One on the test track in Untertürkheim. He is overcome with emotion when he hears the Formula engine, modified for the road, screaming behind him at over 10,000 rpm. Before that, the driver and the car were still very quiet when the V6 plug-in hybrid was running in purely electric mode.
Being sustainable and celebrating combustion engines – hypocritical?
It is unusual to see Nico, who is otherwise very concerned about sustainability, in this recently published YouTube video to experience it completely beside itself when this 1.6-liter gasoline engine gets going. Hypocritical because it is so contrary to green e-mobility? No! I think that as a car enthusiast you can do both: love high-revving combustion engines and still advocate for a sustainable and electrified future. This balance would certainly help us in the current debate about the end of combustion engines.
Car manufacturers stick with combustion engines for longer
Ursula von der Leyen has just been re-elected as President of the European Commission. With her re-election, hopes for more scope for e-fuels are growing. At the same time, pressure is growing to Burner-off for 2035 due to the current market situation and out of concern for the economy. The car manufacturers have recently Plans for the company’s own combustion engine phase-out postponed or canceled for this decade.
The framework conditions have changed. Electromobility has come to a standstill since the sudden end of state funding. The market is already regulating this – and it is seeing less demand for electric cars. In addition, there is a focus in Europe on the war in Ukraine, which automatically means that climate protection is receiving less attention and money. Reconsidering the 2035 combustion engine ban now – I recommend it!
Commitment to technological openness
Previously, the phase-out was a basic requirement for many car brands in their drive strategy and gave them planning security. But now low demand and EU penalties are threatening to put them in a corner. In my view, a clear commitment to technological openness, not just for e-fuels, seems to be the only way out.
Bans and a strict focus on electric drives only lead to the formation of camps. Electric cars and combustion engines do not have to be opposites; both can lead to the goal of zero emissions. However, even without bans, car manufacturers must consistently pursue this path throughout the entire production process – without cheating.
