Invest in EVs or dip out: German minister

The German automotive industry must invest heavily in electric car technology and develop battery production facilities in Europe to keep up with global competitors.

That’s the message from Germany’s economy minister Peter Altmaier.

He told Germany’s Bild newspaper carmakers needed to invest high “two-digit billion amounts” in electric car technology, saying he did not understand why the firms had hesitated for so long, Reuters

says.

Investments were also needed in battery production, given expected demand for many millions of electric batteries that could help firms earn good money, he says.

“Otherwise we’ll have to accept that a large part of the added value will be produced in Asia or the United States, instead of here with us.”

The German car industry, which accounts for some 800,000 jobs in Europe’s biggest economy, is struggling with a global backlash against diesel cars after Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that it had cheated US exhaust tests.

To help reduce pollution levels and avoid a total ban on diesel vehicles, VW, Daimler and others have stepped up development of electric cars.

The new German coalition government plans to ease the tax burden on drivers of electric vehicles, provide at least an additional 100,000 charge points across the country and subsidise car-sharing.

There are also plans to provide funding for research into autonomous driving technology and support the establishment of battery cell production in Germany.