Electric cars are to replace the internal combustion engine in the future. There is still some uncertainty. Range, charging infrastructure, sustainability – these are some of the much discussed topics. Professor Peter Pfeffer from the Munich University of Applied Sciences says in an interview with the stern, what is important in electromobility.
Is an electric car really ecological and when does it not make a contribution to climate protection? What about the charging infrastructure and what about the often controversial subject of batteries? Professor Peter Pfeffer has the answers and criticizes the Federal Government and the EU’s approach. The electric mobility expert holds politicians responsible and says how they could proceed more effectively with the traffic turnaround and ultimately with climate protection. He also estimates how the prices of electric cars are likely to develop in the future and reveals the circumstances under which he would buy an electric car himself. Here are the first questions of the interview:
Mr. Pfeffer, most car manufacturers want to push electric mobility forward and in some cases even become an e-brand entirely. How realistic is it that carmakers will have large-scale electric cars on the market by 2030 or 2035?
The reason why the automotive industry is so pushed in with electromobility lies in EU legislation. Emission targets are required from the current 90 grams per kilometer of CO2, then down to 60 grams of CO2 kilometers in 2030. And these targets can only be achieved if you have electric vehicles in your fleet. With combustion engines alone, this is in any case not physically possible with the vehicle concepts that customers like to buy – especially large vehicles – that you can get down there. That is why they are forced to have a certain proportion of electric vehicles in their fleet – and that has to increase, otherwise they will not be able to comply with the law.
How difficult is it to get rid of the internal combustion engine?
Theoretically, the possibility is already there – at least with cars. It’s also practical, even if it is sometimes impractical for the end customer. It is also technically possible for trucks, but it simply makes no ecological sense. A modern truck has a total weight of 40 tons, of which 15 tons are curb weight of the vehicle and 25 tons are payload. If you electrified it, you would need a huge battery. Then the truck would only have 20 tons of payload and 20 tons of dead weight. That would be a load loss of over 25 percent and at the same time you would also drive a much, much heavier vehicle – even if it’s empty – through the area.
So far, the range of e-cars has often been shorter than that of combustion cars. How can frequent drivers be convinced to buy an electric car?
There is a purchase bonus and a reduced company car tax on electric vehicles. The problem, however, is: the greater the range, the larger the battery has to be and, in turn, the heavier the vehicle. This then increases the driving resistance again. And the higher the requirements, the less ecological the electric vehicle becomes. The electric drive is a good drive on short journeys. It makes sense for city traffic.
You can read the entire interview here.
Source From: Stern
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