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Merkel Reiterates EV Vow
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterates her goal of putting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020 but acknowledges more effort will be needed to achieve it.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterates her goal of putting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020 but acknowledges more effort will be needed to achieve it.
In May Merkel told lawmakers the goal wasn’t likely to be met without more effort. An estimated 80,000 EVs were in use in Germany at the end of last year.
Merkel, who faces reelection next month, cites the need to quickly develop a network of charging stations, including outlets retrofitted to street lamps and parking lots. But she didn’t announce any new programs to implement those objectives.
Last year the German government and the country’s carmakers partnered on a €1.2 billion program to foster stronger demand for electrifications. The plan included retail incentives of €3,000 for plug-in hybrids and €4,000 for all-electric vehicles.
The government also vowed to spend €300 million on infrastructure to support electrified vehicles, including the installation of 15,000 charging stations—about twice the number currently in operation—by mid-2019.
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