Published July 16, 2012
By Huw Evans
In Germany, Financial Times Deutschland, reported that BMW’s Chief Executive, Norbert Reithofer, is asking the government to introduce subsidies in an effort to boost demand for electric vehicles in the country.
The government has said it plans to have one million EVs on German roads within eight years, however, in order to achieve that target, Reithofer believes that significant incentives need to be introduced, since at present, demand has been rather sluggish. His announcement comes as BMW gears up for the mass launch of its first production pure EV, the i3, which was first revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year.
In Brussels, the European Union Commission has said that it wants to drastically reduce vehicle CO2 output, with plans to reduce output to 95 grams per kilometer by 2020, down from 130 g/km in 2015. However, Reithofer, speaking at the annual Handelsblatt conference in BMW’s hometown of Munich last week, said that in order to enable companies like BMW to meet such standards in Europe, based on current conditions, would be a “huge challenge.” He cites incentives offered here in the U.S., such as the federal $7,500 tax credit for helping spur the increase in EV demand and believes similar programs and or changes in tax laws are necessary if European automakers are to have any chance in meeting the outlined Commission requirements.
Financial Times Deutschland via Green Car Congress
