Merkel has not given up on 2020 e-car target

Chancellor Angela Merkel stands by the German government’s goal to have one million electric vehicles on Germany’s roads by 2020, she said in an interview broadcast live on YouTube. “No, no, no, I have not given it up. […] I only said we have to do more, or we won’t easily achieve it”, Merkel told AlexiBexi, one of the four YouTube stars conducting the interview. Merkel also announced she would invite those municipalities that regularly exceed nitrogen oxide emission limits to a debate on 4 September on ways to make those cities clean mobility leaders, using the 500 million euro sustainable mobility fund for cities decided at the diesel summit on 2 August. This includes improving the charging infrastructure to encourage people to switch to electric vehicles, she said.

Watch the full video in German here.

Find background in the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.