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Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius has sound off against the European Union’s ban on gas-powered cars coming in 2035. He warned the continent’s auto market might “collapse” as a result of the authoritarian government mandate which seeks to push consumers into electric cars, all in a bid to lower CO2 emissions and save the planet.
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"We need a reality check. Otherwise we are heading at full speed against a wall," said Kaellenius, according to a report from Reuters.
His comments during a media interview yesterday poured more cold water on the once red-hot EV movement. Back when everyone was jumping on the bandwagon, declaring that gas was dead and electricity was the future, we predicted reality would set in as once-distant dates drew nearer.
Kaellenius rightly predicted what will happen before the ban is consumers will buy gas-powered vehicles in big numbers, then hold onto them indefinitely. After all, look at what Cubans have been able to do with vehicles they’ve been driving since the 1950s.
In other words, European automakers would suddenly be making few sales on their home turf. That could in turn lead to catastrophic results for Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, and more.
But this doesn’t mean Kaellenius wants to pull back on EVs. Instead of pushing consumers into them, he hopes to use government carrots to lure shoppers into buying them, without being forced. That would come in the form of tax incentives, like what’s been done in the US, and reduced prices for electricity at public charging stations.
However, some people are smart enough to know those kinds of incentives only last for a little while. Eventually, they go away and anyone who goes the EV path has to deal with the reality afterward.
The gas car ban in the EU is up for review soon, so there’s a fight brewing over whether the policy should stand, be amended, or abolished completely.
Image via Mercedes-Benz
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