At the Berlin evening of the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, the presidents of the automotive industry associations, Hildegard Müller (VDA), Imelda Labbé (VDIK) and Thomas Peckruhn (ZDK), reaffirmed their cooperation to jointly tackle the challenges of ramping up electromobility.
“We need an overarching and long-term industry master plan in which the automotive industry, politicians, the energy industry and local authorities define the measures for expansion. E-car customers need incentives that protect residual value, a comprehensive charging infrastructure and affordable electricity. This is the only way to make the switch to electromobility attractive and plannable across the board,” says VDIK President Imelda Labbé.
CO2 fleet limits are not yet in sight
Müller, Labbé and Peckruhn agreed that car manufacturers have presented new and affordable electric cars in a major model offensive in recent months, including in the entry-level segment. Despite the strong growth rates for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, the European Commission’s CO2 targets are currently not being met in Germany. What is needed is 20 to 25 percent e-registrations; the e-market share is currently 18 percent.
Manufacturers and dealers are therefore currently offering purchase incentives that are having a massive negative impact on their results and are therefore not economically sustainable. Therefore, in addition to commercial promotion, the measures announced in the coalition agreement for private customers and the used car market are also urgently needed.
Hirte: Good cooperation between politicians and associations
In his speech, Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, praised the good cooperation between politicians, associations and industry in the expansion of electromobility. In this context, he highlighted the positive signals from the German government, for example the increase in the upper limit for company car taxation for electric cars and the innovation booster, which makes the purchase of commercially used e-cars attractive from a tax perspective.
Electric mobility to try out
The mobility industry used the subsequent barbecue evening in the garden of the VDIK’s representative office in the capital for a professional exchange away from everyday business. The guests were able to gain their own impressions of electric mobility in practice during test drives with vehicles from VDIK members BYD, Cupra, Hyundai, Maserati, Nio, Nissan, Škoda and Volvo.
VDIK Board members newly elected
At the previous VDIK General Assembly, Mario Köhler, President of Toyota Germany, was newly elected as a member of the Board. Jens Schulz, Managing Director of MMD Automobile, Florian Kraft, Managing Director of Renault Germany and Jan-Hendrik Hülsmann, CEO of ŠKODA AUTO Germany, were each re-elected for a further two years. Hülsmann was also elected Vice President of the VDIK.
