Germany needs 10 million e-cars for 2030 climate targets – transport minister

Germany needs 10 million electric cars on the road by 2030 to reach its climate targets, according to transport minister Andreas Scheuer. He told newswire dpa in an article carried by news website Focus Online that lowering emissions also required 500,000 electric trucks and 300,000 charging points. “This is a tremendous challenge for policy and industry – but it is doable. Germany can deliver clean cars and clean air,” Scheuer said. With reference to this week’s announcement by VW to step up its electric ambitions, he said it was a “good sign that electric cars ‘made in Germany’ now enter the market”.
Volkswagen said it would produce 22 million electric cars in ten years instead of 15 million as previously planned. Scheuer will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday to discuss climate protection in the transport sector. Germany has launched a commission to make proposals on how to lower transport emissions, but the task force has been hampered by resistance from Scheuer, who has already rejected some of the commission’s early ideas. It is expected to present the results of its deliberations by the end of March.