The future belongs to e-cars, as large parts of industry, society and politics agree. The development towards the electric motor and away from the combustion engine is already clear and will continue to intensify. Gasoline and diesel have long since been phased out.
E-cars are on the rise. While the registration figures for classic combustion engines in Germany still make up a significantly larger proportion, they continue to grow for electric cars. But not only the numbers of new e-cars on the streets show very clearly that combustion engines are becoming increasingly obsolete.
Patents show that manufacturers have long been relying much more on e-cars
The German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) has announced the number of patents filed for 2021. What is striking here is that the “engines, pumps and turbines” area, which includes many developments relating to combustion engines, is shrinking rapidly. In a year-on-year comparison 15.1 percent fewer patents registered – and that in a “technology environment that traditionally has a high number of applications” (source: DPMA).
According to the federal agency, the main reason for the decline is that technological change towards electric mobility. The long history of the combustion engine in the car industry should also contribute to a certain extent. Much is simply already developed to a certain extent.
E-mobility, on the other hand, is still young – especially on a large international scale – and offers plenty of room for new things. You can also see that at the DPMA: Patent applications in connection with electromobility have grown significantly, especially in this area Batteries and fuel cells with an increase of 20.2 percent.
Not only the future security speaks for a purchase of e-cars:
Manufacturers spend a lot of money on electric cars
The numbers also match the plans of the German automotive industry: the car manufacturers want to switch to electromobility at different speeds in the coming years and most of them only want to sell pure electric cars. Usually, however, the Development of new technology for combustion engines stopped. Gasoline or diesel will then remain on sale for a little longer. However, the research budgets are already being shifted to e-drives and related technologies.
According to the DPMA, despite all the changes, the automotive industry continues to dominate when it comes to patent applications. The entire top 10 consists of car manufacturers and their suppliers. the Most registrations in 2021 went to Bosch, followed by BMW and Schaeffler.