Germans are mad about cars and Germany is ranked the most fuel-efficient country on the planet, but when it comes to electric vehicles, Europe's top economy is in the slow lane.
In 2009, Chancellor Angela Merkel set an ambitious target for one million electric cars to be on the road in Germany by 2020.
According to CAR data, about 16,900 electric cars were in use in Germany in the first half of 2014, or four cars for every 10,000 standard fuel-driven ones. As a comparison, the ratio in France is 10 electric cars for every 10,000.
So far, however, the governing coalition government has ruled out any form of financial aid, including possible bonuses for private car drivers. "The government is not acting because German carmakers aren't sufficiently advanced in this technology," said Valerie Wilms, transport spokeswoman for the ecologist opposition Greens.
The market is proving slow to get started, however, BMW conceded.But is it because there are not sufficient recharging stations, or is the range of cars simply not attractive enough?"It's the classic problem of the chicken and the egg," said a BMW spokeswoman. Germany has a paltry 4,400 recharging stations, while France hopes to expand its network to 16,000 by the end of the year.
Auto-mad Germans stuck in electric car slow lane - The Local
In 2009, Chancellor Angela Merkel set an ambitious target for one million electric cars to be on the road in Germany by 2020.
According to CAR data, about 16,900 electric cars were in use in Germany in the first half of 2014, or four cars for every 10,000 standard fuel-driven ones. As a comparison, the ratio in France is 10 electric cars for every 10,000.
So far, however, the governing coalition government has ruled out any form of financial aid, including possible bonuses for private car drivers. "The government is not acting because German carmakers aren't sufficiently advanced in this technology," said Valerie Wilms, transport spokeswoman for the ecologist opposition Greens.
The market is proving slow to get started, however, BMW conceded.But is it because there are not sufficient recharging stations, or is the range of cars simply not attractive enough?"It's the classic problem of the chicken and the egg," said a BMW spokeswoman. Germany has a paltry 4,400 recharging stations, while France hopes to expand its network to 16,000 by the end of the year.
Auto-mad Germans stuck in electric car slow lane - The Local