Thread by @jpr007

Volkswagen is addressing members of the Bundestag with a lobby paper calling for gasoline and diesel engines to remain available on a transitional basis
handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/in…

VW paper to politicians calls for continued promotion of plug-in hybrids and rejects "de facto ban on combustion engines"

The Wolfsburg-based group is investing a high double-digit billion sum in alternative drives and networking over the next few years.

At the start of negotiations on a possible traffic light coalition in Germany, the VW Group is calling on politicians to create better conditions for the expansion of e-mobility

However, a paper addressed to members of the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag also contains suggestions, for example, on how to deal with hybrid cars, which are often criticized

In addition, the lobbyists of Germany's largest company oppose a "de facto ban on internal combustion engines" - modern gasoline and diesel engines would have to remain available for a transitional period

The "recommendations," which were made available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Thursday, aim, for example, at continued promotion of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) as well

In these, the supplementary combustion engine is often switched on when power requirements are high

The share of use of the electric motor should be precisely determined in the future, Volkswagen said

"The tax subsidy for the PHEV must be linked to the actual electric driving performance and will only be granted if a predominantly electric driving share can be proven," it says

The purchase premiums, currently borne two-thirds by the state and one-third by the industry, would then have to continue flowing for PHEV models, but would gradually decline by the middle of the decade

By the end of 2025, they could probably be phased out altogether

Over the next few years, the Wolfsburg-based group will be investing a high double-digit billion sum in alternative drives and connectivity

However, VW rejects a fixed phase-out date for the internal combustion engine - with reference to the regionally varying demand

In view of the EU Commission's plans for stricter nitrogen oxide requirements in the new Euro 7 emissions standard, the authors of the paper call for "realistic" test concepts

The goal, they say, must be to "rule out a de facto ban on internal combustion vehicles as a result of unrealistic specifications"

In parallel, they say, policymakers should improve the conditions for the ramp-up of e-mobility - "especially in favor of vehicles with purely electric drive systems"

VW sales of exclusively electric vehicles have recently increased significantly, thanks in part to the billions in tax incentives

It is also important to expand the charging network more consistently throughout Europe

And: "Local authorities should draw up binding plans for the development of charging infrastructure. It must be examined whether mandatory requirements for the provision of charging points are possible (apartment buildings, businesses, gas stations)"

E-bikes as well as electrified ride services should also be promoted

The Group also reiterated its calls for an end to the diesel privilege, saying that the preferential treatment of the compression-ignition engine in mineral oil tax should cease at the beginning of 2023

At the same time, the CO2 price would have to rise more significantly than it has so far

"Social hardships must be cushioned and households must be given sustainable relief elsewhere," Volkswagen suggests - "for example, in electricity tax or by eliminating the EEG levy"