Merkel reaffirms pledge to speed up German transition to EVs
Angela Merkel took to social media on Wednesday to discuss a number of topics, including the number of EVs and battery charging stations in Germany. Picture Alliance/DPA photo by W. Kumm.
Merkel vows target of 1 million EVs will be met
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to speed up her country’s transition to electric vehicles, adding increased efforts would be needed to meet the target of 1 million EVs on German roads by 2020.
Her comments came during an online interview with four social media stars as Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union party vie for re-election in the German election in six weeks.
In May, Merkel made comments about German automakers struggling to mend their reputations after the diesel emissions scandal rocked the industry. She says her remarks were misinterpreted as meaning her government had abandoned the electrification target.
Merkel said during the forum “I haven’t abandoned the target.” She added “It’s simply that we must do more, otherwise we won’t reach the goal.”
One of the bloggers challenged Merkel on the number and availability of EV charging stations.
In response, Merkel said there is more work to be done to quickly build a network of car battery charging stations across Germany. She says some will be retro-fitted to street lamps and in car parks.
She also pledged to spend 500 million euros on urban transport infrastructure and will invite local governments to a meeting to discuss toxic emissions on Sept. 4.
Despite her optimism, Merkel, who has been in power since 2005, expressed concern about whether automakers were innovative enough in some areas.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
