VW's e-mobility leadership ambitions / "Solid performance" - Uniper
Volkswagen
VW, Germany鈥檚 biggest carmaker, has specified its ambitions to become the 鈥渨orld market leader in e-mobility鈥�. The company鈥檚 鈥淭RANSFORM 2025+鈥� strategy foresees making 鈥渆-cars the new trademark鈥� of the core VW company. It also aims to sell one million e-cars annually within less than ten years, VW鈥檚 brand director Herbert Diess said in the press statement. The carmaker will invest some 2.5 billion euros in its 鈥渆-offensive鈥�, which will 鈥渇undamentally alter鈥� its corporate structure, Diess added. VW recently announced it was going to axe about 30,000 jobs worldwide in a shift to e-mobility that followed last year鈥檚 revelations of a large-scale emission fraud scheme practised by the carmaker.
Read the press release in English .
For background on VW鈥檚 shifting strategy, see the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Dieselgate forces VW to embrace green mobility.
Handelsblatt
The latest remarks of VW鈥檚 CEO Michael M眉ller on Germans鈥� alleged unwillingness to take advantage of the carmaker鈥檚 green product range have caused irritation and protest by politicians and mobility experts, write Stefan Menzel and Dietmar Neuerer in Handelsblatt. Ferdinand Dudenh枚ffer, director at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), said German carmakers 鈥渙nly understood with Tesla that e-cars actually exist鈥�. Lower-Saxony鈥檚 [VW鈥檚 home state] economy minister Olaf Lies said that a CEO criticising his customers鈥� buying decisions was 鈥渃ompletely on the wrong track鈥�. M眉ller previously said in an interview that there was 鈥渘o lack of supply鈥� for e-cars in Germany, but customers were 鈥渞eticent鈥� when it comes to e-mobility. VW recently vowed to commence a shift towards e-mobility, but the cheapest e-car currently costs about 27,000 euros, whereas the cheapest conventional car costs less than 10,000 euros, the authors write.
Read the article in German (behind paywall) .
BUND / Climate-Alliance / Oxfam / WWF / Greenpeace
Germany will significantly miss its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels unless the government quickly implements additional measures beyond its Climate Action Programme from 2014, according to a study by Institute for Future Energy Systems (IZES). The gap to reach the 2020 target is even bigger than current government projections predict, according to the study commissioned by environmental organisations BUND, Climate-Alliance, Oxfam, WWF and Greenpeace. 鈥淥verly optimistic assumptions about the future development of emissions are the reason for this large discrepancy,鈥� writes BUND in a press release. The five organisations demand, among other things, a faster exit from coal-fired power generation. 鈥淣obody can be under the illusion that the climate goal is attainable without shutting down more coal power plants,鈥� said Greenpeace climate expert Karsten Smid.
Read the BUND press release in German and the final report in German .
Read the 威力彩玩法 article Ministry projections highlight risk of Germany missing emissions goal.
CDU / Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Energy and climate policy is likely to play a minor role in the 2017 election campaign programme of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), writes Andreas Mihm in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The party leadership on Monday decided on the text of the main motion for the upcoming federal party conference. 鈥淎t the very end, an 鈥榚nvironmental- and climate-friendly growth鈥� is advertised, as well as the marked-economy based development of renewable energies and the reconciliation of ecology and economy,鈥� writes Mihm.
Read the article in German and find the motion in German .
For background on the federal elections 2017 read the 威力彩玩法 dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende.
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
Angela Merkel鈥檚 decision to run for a fourth term as chancellor is a reason for delight for Germany鈥檚 right-wing party Alternative f眉r Deutschland (AfD), writes Jens Schneider in a commentary for S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, Merkel embodies everything the AfD opposes - from immigration affairs to energy policy - sparking hopes by its chairwoman Frauke Petry that the chancellor鈥檚 renewed bid for heading the government 鈥渨ill mobilise supporters鈥� on the right, Schneider writes. With Merkel, a politician who 鈥渟pearheaded the Energiewende鈥檚 collapse鈥� was going to stand for re-election, Schneider quoted Petry as saying. The AfD at times 鈥渕oves around in its own little world in which climate change does not exist鈥� and regards the Energiewende as unnecessary, Schneider says.
Read the article in German .
For more information on Germany鈥檚 election year and energy transition, see the 威力彩玩法 dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The transition to e-mobility should be organised in a way that prevents 鈥渢echnical or societal breaks鈥�, Holger Appel writes in an opinion piece in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The government should also restrict itself to setting realistic guidelines while leaving the rest to companies and customers. 鈥淭hey know best which technology is attractive. And only if that is the case, will [the technology] find its (green) way,鈥� writes Appel.
verivox
About a third of German utilities will raise their electricity prices by an average of 3.5 percent in 2017, according to price comparison website verivox. This means additional costs of 41 euros per year for an average four-person home. The suppliers passed on higher costs for levies and fees, such as the grid fees, on to the customers, according to verivox. Most utilities, however, hold off on price increases until later in the year. 鈥淲e expect a second price wave in the spring of 2017,鈥� said Jan Lengerke, a member of the management at verivox.
Read the press release in German .
For background read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet What German households pay for power.
Reuters / Uniper
The prospect of an improving performance has given the shares of E.ON鈥檚 conventional energy spin-off Uniper a boost, the Reuters news agency reports. Uniper expects an adjusted 鈥榚arnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization鈥� of 1.9 billion to 2.2 billion euros this year, the company said in a press release on its report on the first nine months 2016. Uniper continued a 鈥渟olid operating performance鈥�, especially in the gas business, but reports a nine-month net loss of 4.2 billion euros. This was 鈥渁ttributable to non-cash effective valuation effects鈥�. This figure was largely already disclosed in the results for the first half of 2016 and 鈥渕ore than offset鈥� adverse effects caused by 鈥渟ignificantly lower achieved power prices鈥� in Europe, writes Uniper in the release.
Uniper鈥檚 parent company E.ON recently announced a loss of 9.3 billion euros, caused by the spin-off鈥檚 unexpectedly low market capitalisation.
Read the Reuters article in German and Uniper鈥檚 press release in English .
For background on the creation of Uniper, see the 威力彩玩法 factsheet E.ON shareholders ratify energy giant's split.
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
Lower CO2-emissions of cars can be achieved even without relying on e-cars 鈥渢o beef up the quota鈥�, according to a new study by the non-profit organisation International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Max H盲gler writes in S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. The ICCT鈥檚 analysis demonstrated that 鈥渞eaching the target of 70 grams CO2 per kilometre by 2025 on average for the entire fleet of newly registered cars鈥� would be possible even if combustion engines still accounted for the vast majority of registrations, the ICCT鈥檚 Europe director Peter Mock told the newspaper. However, this meant 鈥渁dditional investments between 1,000 and 2,150 euros per vehicle鈥�, he added. But since these lower emissions were associated with lower fuel costs, customers would financially benefit from the upgrade 鈥渁lready after a few years鈥�.
Read the article (behind paywall) in German .
For further information on Germany鈥檚 automotive industry and energy transition, see the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.
