German newspaper Bild am Sonntag said on Sunday that German automakers Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen urged the government to do more to increase the number of electric car charging stations across the country.
“To accelerate the change (to electric cars), we need to make sure that the charging station infrastructure is built. This is also a question of politics,” the newspaper quoted Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, as saying.
“More speed is needed, and building charging stations is a shared task for the economy, the federal government and the communes,” Oliver Blum, chief executive of Volkswagen, agreed.
Rapidly increasing the number of charging stations
Last October, the German government approved a €6.3 billion ($6.74 billion) spending plan to rapidly increase the number of charging stations across the country, as part of its drive towards net zero emissions. The plan included accelerating state approvals for the construction of charging points.
Industry associations, which have long complained that the government has not kept pace with the rapid expansion of electric cars, said “implementing the proposals was essential”.
The future of the electric car
“The future of the electric vehicle,” Kallenius was quoted as saying, noting that “by the end of this decade, we want to be ready to transition fully to electric vehicles in our segment of the market, where market conditions permit.”
He added, “It is not a foregone conclusion, rather it will require a gigantic industrial transformation.” (Reuters)
