Minister calls for extra industry efforts to master shift towards e-cars
Carmakers in Germany need to embrace a global “disruptive” shift in mobility by adjusting their production to the looming dominance of e-cars, Peter Altmaier, Chief of the German Chancellery, said at the “Agenda 2017” conference of Tagesspiegel in Berlin. Altmaier warned that a large part of the car industry’s value creation, such as the development of batteries, could happen abroad after a complete shift towards e-cars. The automotive industry faces an innovation cycle that “is not based on combustion engines” but on autonomous vehicles and electric power systems, putting the future role of current market leaders in doubt, according to the minister.
For background, read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.