“Makes everything worse”
BMW boss finds combustion ban “naive”
May 14, 2024, 8:35 a.m
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From 2035 onwards, no new combustion engines will be permitted in the EU. BMW boss Zipse hopes that the strict ban will be relaxed. Because CO2 emissions from cars can be reduced much more effectively in Europe.
BMW boss Oliver Zipse doesn’t think the EU’s ban on combustion engines is a good idea. “From our point of view, the introduction of this ban was naive. We made that clear from the start and had to accept a lot of public criticism for it. But now many actors’ eyes are opening,” Zipse told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
The EU states and the European Parliament sealed the end of new cars with diesel and gasoline engines a year ago. Specifically, from 2035, new cars will no longer be allowed to emit carbon dioxide, which is produced when these fuels are burned. Exceptions are being considered for so-called e-fuels, which do not pollute the atmosphere with additional CO2. As things stand today, electric cars are the most cost-effective way to meet future requirements. However, they are still significantly more expensive than combustion engines.
“Wanting to regulate markets on such a scale ultimately makes everything worse: the competitive position, the ecological impact and job security,” said the BMW boss. “We are currently only experiencing a foreplay. If the regulations remained as they are, it would have striking consequences for the industrial base in Europe. According to our estimates, the value added in the automotive industry would be roughly halved – with a corresponding impact on employment.”
The legal act on the ban on combustion engines states that the EU Commission will review in 2026 what effects the law has and what progress has been made. Recently the demand became louder to reverse the decision. This is entirely possible given the increasing criticism and the European Parliament elections in June.
“Dependent on a single technology”
“Anyone who looks at the facts will see that an adjustment is unavoidable. With the end in 2035, an entire industry has become vulnerable to blackmail. Because every international competitor, every supplier knows: They are dependent on a single technology,” said Zipse. This would undermine the market mechanisms and make the raw materials required significantly more expensive.
CO2 emissions in the EU could also be significantly reduced if combustion engines continue to be approved after 2035, according to the BMW boss. “To this day, the assumption remains that the maximum ecological effect will be achieved when the new car market is regulated. But what about the more than 25 million existing vehicles with combustion engines in Europe?” This stock of older vehicles is the main emitter, but is not affected by the regulation at all. Therefore, fuels would have to be given a “more demanding CO2 target,” said Zipse. To achieve this, the mineral oil industry must increase the admixture of low-CO2 or neutral fuels.