Audi will only produce electric vehicles | News from Germany about Germany | >

German carmaker Audi has announced concrete plans to phase out the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines. From 2026, all new Audi models will be electric cars, CEO Marcus Duesmann said at a climate conference in Berlin on Tuesday June 22nd.

Audi’s lineup is expected to have more than 20 electric vehicle models by 2025. At the same time, the production of cars with internal combustion engines is expected to be phased out by 2033. However, due to high demand in China, such cars may continue to be produced at local partner factories after 2033, the head of Audi admitted. “I do not believe in the power of prohibitions, I believe in the success of technology and innovation,” he added.

Other automakers will switch to electric vehicles too

A number of manufacturers have already announced their plans to curtail the production of cars with internal combustion engines. The Swedish company Volvo intends to do this by 2030, the American concern General Motors – from 2035. Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler plans to fully switch to electric vehicles by 2039, and another German concern Volkswagen – from 2040.

See also:

• Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Closure of coal-fired power plants

  The German government decided by 2038 to end the use of coal in the electric power industry – the most harmful fossil energy source for the climate. Already in 2022, the total capacity of coal-fired power plants will be reduced by a quarter. Those that run on imported coal will be closed at an accelerated pace. For the curtailment of brown coal mining, a number of regions in Germany will receive multi-billion dollar compensation.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Renewable energy development

  By 2030, 65% of the electricity consumed in Germany should be produced from renewable sources (RES), primarily with the help of wind and sun. At the time of the adoption of the program in September 2019, this figure was about 43%. Among the measures to stimulate the development of renewable energy sources is an increase in the material interest of local authorities in installing wind turbines on their territory.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Introduction of CO2 certifications

  Anyone who emits significant amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere must pay for it. This is the meaning of the CO2 certification system introduced in the European Union back in 2005 for industrial enterprises. In Germany, from 2021, companies selling various types of fuel to consumers will also be required to acquire such certificates. As a result, it should rise in price.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Increase in fuel prices

  The price of CO2 certificates, according to the government program, will steadily grow in 2021-25. This should lead to a gradual rise in the price of, in particular, gasoline and diesel at filling stations. The goal of the government program is to encourage motorists to use petroleum products more economically and, ultimately, to switch to environmentally friendly modes of transport.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Promotion of electromobility

  The German government has expanded and extended until 2025 a program to stimulate the purchase of all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Thus, the discount on electric cars at a price of up to 40 thousand euros has been increased from 4 to 6 thousand euros, for more expensive models it is 5 thousand euros. At the same time, it was decided to install 50 thousand new public charging stations in 2020-21.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Increase in tax on air tickets

  Emissions from aircraft engines are highly contributing to the greenhouse effect, so the German government is seeking to reduce the number of air travel, especially within Germany and Europe. One of the points of the climate protection program is to increase the tax on air tickets from April 1, 2020. In particular, by 5.65 euros to 13.03 euros when departing from airports in Germany on intra-European routes.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Rail tax incentives

  The more passengers prefer cars, intercity buses and electric trains, the better for the climate, the German government believes. One of the points of his program is the reduction of VAT on railway tickets from 19% to preferential 7% from January 1, 2020, and, as a result, their cost reduction on long-distance trains by 10%. Lost taxes are compensated to the treasury by the tax on air passengers.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Prohibition of diesel heating of houses

  Significant CO2 emissions occur when heating buildings. In many German houses, primarily individual ones, heating systems using fuel oil or diesel fuel are still operating, often very old and ineffective. The state is ready to undertake 40% of the costs of replacing them with modern environmentally friendly technologies. And from 2026, the installation of diesel boilers will be banned altogether.

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  Climate protection in Germany: the government’s agenda until 2030

  Support for energy efficient housing

  The more energy-saving technologies are used in a building, the less energy is required to heat it. Therefore, from 2020, the German government, as part of the climate protection program, will provide tax incentives to all homeowners for installing energy-efficient double-glazed windows in windows and for thermal insulation of walls and roofs.

  Author: Andrey Gurkov

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