Automotive experts plan for internal combustion engines

Are European plans to produce only electric cars by 2035 possible? The Renault CEO certainly doesn’t think so. am working He put the question to motoring journalist Gert Verhoeven.

Listen to the full conversation with Gert Verhoeven here:

In the news: Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault and head of the umbrella organization for European car manufacturers, believes that European regulations on combustion engines are becoming too strict. He would prefer to see fewer restrictions, so that the transition to electric driving would be more gradual.

• Verhoeven: “Europe has assumed that we have to drive electric. From 2035 the combustion engine may no longer be sold. Politicians want to send a signal. It’s nice, but not possible. There are problems with electricity production and distribution, charging stations and infrastructure. Manufacturers have invested heavily in electric driving. But they also see that people are not going to quit the combustion engine right away.”
• “From 2025 new cars must meet the Euro 7 emissions standard. It is very strict and it is very expensive to build engines to comply with it. For a manufacturer like Renault it is very difficult to save on electricity and invest in battery technology, as well as invest in a new generation of combustion engines. Manufacturers are eager to develop an engine, but if they don’t know how long they can market it, the suds aren’t worth the effort.”
• “There’s a bit of a sense of reality missing, because it’s the manufacturers who decide what comes on the market. If they don’t have the horizon of being able to sell complex, expensive combustion engines in x number of years, those engines won’t come. And then we might end up in a vacuum.” In the year 2035 or even earlier,” Verhoeven predicts. Then there will be enough electric cars on the market, but our governments will not be able to provide enough electricity. We are heading towards that.”