This Country In Europe Wants To Ban Internal Combustion Engine Cars

Internal combustion engine cars have been around for a very long time. Diesel and Gasoline engines have shuttled us everywhere conveniently at the expense of global warming and major geopolitical conflicts, to say the least. Now Germany, the country that has provided us with wonderful cars with internal combustion engines, like the BMW M3, Audi RS5, and the Mercedes AMG C63, has made a major announcement. They want to ban Internal Combustion Engines by 2030!

Germany’s Spiegel Magazine has reported that the Bundesrat of Germany, Germany’s legislative body that represents the 16 states at the National level, has mandated that by 2030 only zero-emission passenger vehicles will be approved. According to Forbes:

On its own, the resolution has no legislative effect. EU type approval is regulated on the EU level. However, German regulations traditionally have shaped EU and UNECE regulations.

EU automakers will be alarmed that the resolution, as quoted by der Spiegel, calls on the EU Commission to “review the current practices of taxation and dues with regard to a stimulation of emission-free mobility.”

• “Stimulation of emission-free mobility” can mean incentives to buy EVs. Lavish subsidies doled out by EU states have barely moved the needle so far.

• A “review the current practices of taxation and dues” is an unambiguously broad hint to end the tax advantages enjoyed by diesel in many EU member states. The lower price of diesel fuel, paired with its higher mileage per liter, are the reason that half of the cars on Europe’s roads are diesel-driven. Higher taxes would fuel diesel’s demise.

It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the EU countries will follow Germany’s lead in preventing the sales of ICE cars. Luckily for our UK automotive enthusiast brothers, they’re no longer bound to do whatever EU wants to do thanks to Brexit. However, that doesn’t mean the UK won’t follow suit in solidarity.

As for the United States following Germany’s example, that would most likely be an American “Hell” to the “No!” At the least not by 2030. Given that we’re still trying to save the manuals and are putting up a good fight, preventing consumers from purchasing gasoline engines would be political suicide.

(Source: Spiegel Magazine & Forbes)