According to a recent article published by The Guardian Germany is planning to subsidize electric cars purchases to give a boost to the currently stagnant grown in the sector and support national climate goals towards zero-emission mobility.
Advantages of electric vehicles
As an alternative to the traditional internal combustion engine, which typically runs on fossil fuels, electric cars (or e-cars) run on electricity propelled by a motor with a rechargeable battery pack. They are increasingly being viewed as a potential solution that still provides the convenience of individual mobility, but that also aligns with sustainability goals.
E-cars are more energy efficient, converting roughly 60% of electricity taken from the grid to power than their gasoline-powered counterparts in which roughly 20% of the energy stored in gasoline is converted. And when the car only relies on electricity, which can be sourced domestically, this reduces the dependence of imported fossil fuels.
Because e-cars can utilize renewables resources such as hydro-, solar-, or wind-power to produce electricity, pollution from emissions is significantly decreased. Additionally, e-cars have a reduced noise pollution compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts. Remember that scene from The Office?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qawyfg5jRHw
Barriers to wide-scale adoption of electronic vehicles
While e-cars may have the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to the traditional individual vehicle, their wide-scale adaption will be based on the ability to overcome certain barriers, namely: range and security. Battery charging stations must be integrated in the infrastructure nationwide in order to ensure drivers they will not be stranded without the option to charge.
In comparison, most e-cars can only travel about 150 km without recharging, while the gas-powered vehicles can go nearly 500 km without need to refuel. As well, when the e-car is charging, it typically needs between 4-8 hours for a full charge.
Lastly, higher costs typically associated with e-cars have been one of the largest barriers to adoption. The initial investment of the e-car itself can be higher than a gas-powered vehicle and the batteries are expensive, and in some cases need to be replaced more than once.
The role of German subsidies for electric cars
To try to overcome some of these barriers, Germany will provide car buys €4,000 when they purchase a purely electric vehicle and €3,000 for a plug-in hybrid. The cost share is broken down 50-50 between public funds and private care makers such as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW.
The program will start next month, in an effort to reach Germany’s goal of putting one million electric cars on the road by 2020 (the figure now is approximately 50,000, less than 1% of the total share of cars on the road).
The subsidies will also come on a first come, first serve basis for cars priced no higher than €60,000, according to finance manage Wolfgang Schäuble.
Additionally, the government has put €300 million towards boosting infrastructure for charging stations in the cities and on autobahn highway stops—a vital step towards a more secure situation for drivers. Another €100 million will also go towards purchasing electric vehicles for federal government fleets.
