Utilities' fate for carmakers? / The e-car's resource risks
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
An energy transition in mobility could pose the same challenges for German carmakers that the power transition has posed for big German utilities, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in an opinion piece for the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. 鈥淚f the carmakers don鈥檛 pay attention, e-mobility will be for them what sun and wind turned out to be for RWE and E.ON: a Waterloo,鈥� writes Bauchm眉ller. The utilities repeatedly pointed to nuclear power as a bridging technology for the shift to renewables, and were unprepared when the changing attitude of the population pushed the government to pull the plug on nuclear after Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Bauchm眉ller points out. This time, it's consumers who will pull the plug if carmakers continue to cling to diesel and petrol for too long. 聽鈥淚t won鈥檛 be long until the German car industry will feel this fading love. For them, the most recent crisis has characteristics of Fukushima,鈥� writes Bauchm眉ller.
Read the opinion piece in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.
Bild
Germany鈥檚 Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) 鈥渟ugarcoated鈥� reports on the emissions scandal investigation, bowing to pressure from the auto industry, writes Hanno Kautz in an article for Bild. In the original version of the report from 2016, KBA wrote of a 鈥渄efeat device, according to regulation鈥� in Porsche鈥檚 Macan, and then changed the wording after the car company intervened, writes Kautz. The final report read: 鈥淎ccording to regulation, this can be seen as a modification of the emissions performance of the exhaust system.鈥� An exchange between the authority and the manufacturer on technical questions was 鈥渟tandard and necessary international鈥� procedure, the transport ministry (BMVi) told Bild.
In a separate interview with Bild, transport minister Alexander Dobrindt said the car industry had 鈥渢he cursed responsibility to re-establish trust鈥� and that the reputation of 鈥淎utomobile Made in Germany鈥� was in danger.
Read the article in German , and the Dobrindt interview (behind paywall) in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Why the German diesel summit matters for climate and energy, and the interview 鈥淒iesel summit comes two years too late鈥�.
Welt am Sonntag
German automotive component supplier Bosch will decide on whether to start its own battery cell production around the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018, Bosch鈥檚 chairman of the board of management Volkmar Denner told the Welt am Sonntag in an interview. Bosch faces strong competition in Asia and needs to find a 鈥渄isruptive approach鈥� in manufacturing technology, said Denner. If diesel sales continue to decline, Denner expects a shift towards petrol engines, because 鈥渇or people, e-mobility is not a real alternative yet.鈥�
Read the interview (behind paywall) in German .
Der Spiegel / Spiegel Online
Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer (the Christian Social Union, or CSU) wants to counter falling diesel car sales by reducing vehicle taxes on 鈥渓ow-emission Euro-6-diesel鈥� cars, reports German weekly Der Spiegel. In a separate article, Spiegel Online writes that the federal environment ministry rejects such calls: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not especially interested in supporting a technology that doesn鈥檛 belong on the streets in the medium term anyway,鈥� said a spokesperson.
Read an online version of the original article in German and the article on BMUB鈥檚 reaction in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Why the German diesel summit matters for climate and energy, and the interview 鈥淒iesel summit comes two years too late鈥�.
Zeit Online
It is high-time for Germany to strongly push for the transition to zero-emissions transport, writes Green Party co-chair Cem 脰zdemir in a guest commentary for Zeit Online. 鈥淧retending鈥� that the end of diesel technology was still decades away is a 鈥渉ighly dangerous development: for Germany as a location for industry, for climate protection and for our health,鈥� writes 脰zdemir. It is up to the government now to set the right regulatory framework with decisions like the nuclear phase-out and the expansion of renewable energies, writes 脰zdemir.
Read the guest commentary in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The energy transition and Germany鈥檚 transport sector.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
General diesel driving bans are not a good solution in the emissions debate, as they would basically expropriate German car owners, chairman of Industrial Union of Metalworkers (IG-Metall) J枚rg Hofmann told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview. Hofmann spoke of a 鈥渉ighly unfair scandalisation鈥� of the automobile by 鈥渟upposed green groups.鈥� 鈥淪ome of what is currently said about so-called mortal danger of cars, is sheer humbug,鈥� said Hofmann.
Read an article on the interview in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet The debate over an end to combustion engines in Germany.
Die Welt
If Germany鈥檚 car industry implements its long-announced shift to e-mobility and catches up with competitors in other countries, supplying it with raw materials for battery production and other e-car components could become a major challenge, Daniel Eckert writes in Die Welt. 鈥淪upply chain interruptions by only one supplier in the highly concentrated market for high-tech-minerals can lead to an explosion in prices,鈥� Eckert says. Materials such as rare earths or lithium are needed for green technology, from e-cars to wind turbines and solar panels, and the political clout of important source countries like China is set to increase dramatically, he argues. Many of these raw materials are not traded on open markets 鈥渂ut have to be obtained via long-term contracts with producers,鈥� he explains. If Germany鈥檚 next government initiates a true 鈥渃ar transition鈥� towards e-mobility, global demand for lithium might substantially exceed global production, Eckart argues, adding that 鈥渘obody knows for sure.鈥�
For more information on the Energiewende鈥檚 dependence on raw materials, see the World Bank report .
