A significantly higher CO2 price, an earlier phase-out of coal, promotion of bicycles: VW boss Herbert Diess has formulated ten demands to the new government. You sound like that of a climate activist. What’s behind it?
While the parties are sorting themselves after the federal election and are considering who could implement which plans with whom, one of them has already finished his catalog for the new government. VW boss Herbert Diess formulated ten wishes for the new government via Twitter on Monday. The remarkable thing about it: The demands do not read like those of a car boss, but like those of a climate activist.
“The fact that climate policy reforms and modernization & digitization are high on the agenda is a good basis for the coalition negotiations,” writes the head of Europe’s largest car manufacturer. “We have thought about it & would like the following 10 points to flow into the negotiations.”
Away from the combustion engine, towards e-cars
Even Diess’s first demand is tough: a CO2 price of 65 euros per ton as early as 2024. The Autoboss is basically calling for gasoline to become massively more expensive – and even more expensive than it will already be according to previous plans. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a national CO2 price on fossil fuels of 25 euros per ton. According to previous government plans, this should increase to 45 euros by 2024. Diess is now asking for 65 euros and says: “Only tangible measures will advance decarbonization.”
The other demands also read like a climate activist’s wish list. Diess wants to “end subsidies for fossil fuels” and “clearly prefer the phase-out from coal”. He advocates an expansion of renewable energies to at least 255 gigawatts by 2030 and a faster grid expansion. The billions in funding for company cars should “focus on vehicles with electric drive” in the future.
In general, he would like to see massive tailwinds for electric cars: the purchase premium for electric cars should be retained and gradually reduced until 2025. The charging infrastructure for cars and trucks must be massively promoted and expanded. All that’s missing is a specific date for a ban on combustion vehicles and the green agenda would be ready.
Claims in their own right
Of course, Diess does not ask for all of this unselfishly. The Elon Musk fan has prescribed a consistent electrical strategy for the VW Group and wants to establish it as the leading power in the industry in the post-fossil age. Diess will invest 35 billion euros in the transformation of the Wolfsburg giant in the coming years. By 2030, e-cars should achieve a 70 percent share of sales in the European market. Between 2033 and 2035, VW wants to completely exit the combustion engine business in Europe, and a little later in the USA and China.
Like most other automakers, VW relies on battery technology and not on hydrogen cars, which explains another point on Diess’ Twitter list. “Green hydrogen is precious and energy-intensive. It is urgently needed for green steel and for the decarbonization of industries such as chemicals and cement,” writes Diess. A clear hint to the next government to please focus on industry and not on transport when it comes to hydrogen initiatives – a view also shared by independent climate and transport experts.
On the other hand, it seems more surprising at first glance that Diess, in addition to a government purchase bonus for its e-cars, also describes the promotion of bicycles, e-bikes and electrified car sharing services as a “must”. Does the car manager want to make his own car superfluous? In any case, Diess has recognized that there is more to the mobility of the future than simply replacing combustion cars with e-cars. With the car-sharing service WeShare and the shared taxi alternative Moia, the group is already relying on such offers in some cities. Accordingly, Diess also demands: “Equal ride pooling with local public transport.”
The last two items in Diess’ wish list for the next government concern the future of autonomous driving. Diess wants security for vehicle data and a nationwide 5G network as the necessary infrastructure.
The bottom line is that the analysis of the demands shows that the VW boss did not suddenly go over to Fridays for Future, but appears as a lawyer on his own behalf. He demands guard rails from politics in order to be able to successfully lead his industrial group into the electric age. The campaign provides new fodder for all those who say: The economy has long been ready in many places to switch to green technologies, if only politics finally provides a reliable framework.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
