Max Gruenig, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, discussed during the "Congres des Collectivites Electromobiles" in Lille the situation of electric cars in Germany.
Key messages of his presentation were:
- Emobility in Germany is still rather an issue of research and development rather than sales and use.
- Research projects are manifold and cover all aspects, including safety.
- Only a mere 36% of new car sales in Germany are done by individuals, the remainder going to businesses, associations and public administration etc - bringing up the question whether the consumer should be the first target for promoting electric cars.
- In a model run with 720 scenarios, the full cost of ownership of electric vehicles are not cost-competitive compared to conventional vehicles from a consumer perspective.
- The costs of driving a diesel car are still the lowest in all scenarios.
- The best support mechanisms are those which target the sales price, since consumers are 'blind' with regards to future savings.
- Since technology evolves over time, this adds uncertainty to the cost modeling.
- Costs are not the only relevant factor: size, safety and comfort are also important.
The full costs of ownership for electric cars compared to conventional vehicles are not yet cost-competitive from the consumer perspective