Scholz to meet car industry amid doubts that Germany can meet electric vehicle targets

German chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to meet with heads of the car industry this coming Monday to discuss electric vehicle targets as part of the country’s plans to move away from fossil fuels, reports Spiegel. The current target is to have at least 15 million electric cars on German streets by 2030, but the industry itself says 2032 is more likely, writes Spiegel. Rising energy prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war have changed consumer attitudes, making them more reluctant to spend, said an industry source to Spiegel. Concerns around inflation, and sinking buyer’s premiums were also given as reasons for the falling demand for electric vehicles.

The constitutional court’s decision in the last week to declare part of the planned state climate action and industry transformation funding unconstitutional has also made the situation more difficult for the industry, as it makes bigger state subsidies very unlikely. Some industry insiders fear that, in its search for money to fill the funding gap of the Climate Transformation Fund, the German government might raise the CO2 price for transport fuels or withdraw the diesel privilege. The German government has subsidised the purchase of around two million electric vehicles so far, with the country promoting low-emission cars since 2016. .