By Giwa SHILE
Germany is on course to fall short of its goal of having one million electric cars driving on its streets before 2020, government advisors predicted on Wednesday.
The advisory group of the New Pact for Europe (NPE) said in its 2018 progress report that given current market trends, the target should be pushed back to 2022 instead.
At the start of 2018, just 98,820 cars with electric or hybrid motors were on Germany’s roads.
The NPE has been observing the electric vehicle market in Germany since 2010, when it suggested the million-car goal, which the government took on as its own.
Wednesday’s announcement in Berlin came as no surprise; Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged in 2017 that it seemed unlikey the goal could be met.
From an international perspective Germany lags behind China, the U.S. and Norway, where e-mobility enjoys greater support from politicians.
The NPE said there were multiple reasons why electric cars have yet to take off in Germany, including that they are expensive compared to combustion engine cars, and in the past, fewer models were available.
Infrastructure is also lacking, with a need for more charging stations to be built.
However, Merkel remained optimistic on Wednesday. “We are making progress,” she said in Berlin. “We have broken through to the mass market but now we must of course roll this out even wider.”
