Large majority of Germans against combustion engine ban – survey
Clean Energy Wire
A large majority of Germans opposes a general ban of combustion engine car sales. In a representative survey by the German Energy Agency dena, conducted by pollster Forsa, 74 percent were against such a proposal, but the camp of supporters is growing (from 18% in 2019 to 25% in 2020). Eighty percent of these supporters said that the ban should happen by 2030 or earlier. Two thirds of respondents said they would only start using their car less or buy a vehicle with an alternative drive when fuel prices hit 2 euros per litre or more (diesel currently about €1.30, petrol €1.40). Seventy percent of respondents said a system where the sales price of a new car depends on its CO2 emissions is a suitable instrument to reduce emissions.
A separate recent survey had shown that many Germans remain deeply sceptical about electric cars. Thirty-nine percent of drivers say they "will not buy an electric car under any circumstances”, according to a survey by utility association VKU. In a 2020 survey, 64 percent of German driving license holders said they would consider buying an electric car. In yet another poll, 11 percent of respondents said they were actively planning on buying an e-vehicle. In January, registrations of new battery-electric cars in Germany increased by almost 120 percent year-on-year to 16,315 units, reaching a share of 9.6 percent. In 2020, the number of newly registered e-cars tripled.
