This year, at the Global e-Mobility forum, speakers painted a positive picture, with the goals of the European Green Deal becoming achievable through the different approaches of e-mobility.
After launching a mechanism called Driving Change Together a few years ago, Poland and the United Kingdom announced that today 44 countries, more than half of humanity, have decided to take part.
“In Europe, electromobility is really taking off and we are at the historical moment of the development of electric vehicles,” said Michał Kurtyka, Poland’s Minister of Climate and Environment. “For the first time in Europe, in September this year, registration of electric vehicles passed the registration of diesel cars.”
Moreover, he highlighted that 98 per cent of users who changed from a combustion engine to an electric car are satisfied with the switch.
The Minister also mentioned that somewhere between 2022 and 2023, electric cars in terms of the total cost of ownership (price and operational costs) will be cheaper than combustion engines and that will certainly put even more acceleration to the development of EV vehicles.
From the European Commission’s point of view, transport is the only economic sector in which CO2 emission has increased since 1990. In next month upcoming sustainable and smart mobility strategy, the Commission will lay the path to achieve carbon neutrality, through sustainable alternative fuels as well.
“To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030, which is a target we assumed, we will need around 20 per cent of our car fleet and one per cent of our heavy-duty fleet to emit zero emission by then,” said Adina Ioana Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport. “Vehicles are important but having sufficient infrastructures for the charging of electric vehicles are the key pieces of the puzzle.”
The transformation of the automotive industry is erupting and it is mainly about technology, climate change and regulation. In Europe, regulation is pushing e-mobility and the car manufacturers are focusing on their fleet composition to avoid penalty payments. Governments are supporting hybrid and battery electric cars and the pandemic seems to boost financial support ongoingly.
“This must be stated that from the customer side it is the environmental aspect, but it is also the driving fun factor which is boosting electrified driving,” said Wolfgang Bremm von Kleinsorgen, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Central Europe. “With the combination of environmental true contribution and the customer pull, I also believe that Daimler can sell 50 per cent electrified cars in 2030 and which is our very true ambition, to be zero carbon neutral 2039.”
According to consultancy firm PWC, the total share of electric and hybrid vehicles must raise between 35 and 45 per cent, depending on the mix with hybrid cars. If the Green Deal in Europe is getting through, then it means an average of 38 grammes per kilometre of CO2 emission. To put it into context, a combustion engine can reach a minimum of 80 grammes per kilometre average.
