• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: "A Path Filled With Hardships"
  • Q&A: Volvo CEO Jim Rowan Talks Hitting Targets, Future Vehicles
  • FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing
  • Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV
  • First Look: 2024 Lexus GX
  • GM Investing $500M in Texas Plant for Gas-Powered SUVs
  • New Battery Chemistry Promises Increased Range, Cell Life
  • Labor Unrest at West Coast Ports Threatens U.S. Automakers
  • Used Car Wholesale Prices Decline; Retail Prices Don't
  • Pandemic Accelerated Auto Dealers’ Shift to Digital-Oriented Sales Process
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Chevrolet Trax Activ
    • A Week With: 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 SE
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro SX Touring
    • A Week With: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Estrema Q4
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus NX 350h Luxury
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line
    • First Drive: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Germany, Home of the Autobahn, Could Be Next to Begin Phase-Out of Internal Combustion Engine

        Germany, Home of the Autobahn, Could Be Next to Begin Phase-Out of Internal Combustion Engine

        “The approach is the right one,” says Chancellor Angela Merkel.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Aug. 15, 2017
        German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, with several former Opel executives.

        It’s the home of the Autobahn, super-smooth highways where German motorists can generally drive as fast as their gas and diesel-powered cars will allow. But Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that Germany’s drivers may soon have to switch to battery-electric and other zero-emissions vehicles.

        In an interview with the country’s Super Illu weekly, Merkel expressed support for new plans to phase out the internal combustion engine in countries including Norway and the United Kingdom.

        Global News!

        “The approach is the right one,” she said, though the Chancellor hesitated about offering a precise timetable for such a move in Germany, saying, “I can’t give you a precise year yet.”

        Whether Merkel is seriously committed to enacting a ban on internal combustion vehicles in Germany is uncertain, though the concept has been floated by other politicians in recent months. The Chancellor is in the midst of a tough reelection battle, Merkel hoping to win a fourth term next month, and she is clearly hoping to win support from backers of Germany’s strong Green party.

        But her comments on a possible ban of the internal combustion engine come barely a week after a German summit in which automakers attempted to lay out a case for continuing support of diesel power. So-called oil-burners have accounted for roughly half of the European market over the last decade, significantly higher mileage and often-subsidized fuel costs offsetting higher vehicle prices.

        Nothing symbolizes the prowess of the German auto industry - or the power of its cars - like the Autobahn, must of it with no speed limit.

        But diesel’s reputation has been sorely tarnished by the revelation that Volkswagen rigged at least 11 million vehicles to illegally pass emissions tests – more than 500,000 of those sold by its various brands  in the U.S. In recent months, a number of other manufacturers, including industry luxury leader Daimler AG, have faced similar accusations, and millions of European diesel vehicles are facing recall to update their emissions control systems.

        In the Super Illu interview, Merkel repeated her prior criticism of Volkswagen, the automaker facing tough sanctions and almost $30 billion in expenses related to the scandal so far. German prosecutors in several regions are conducting ongoing investigations that have already led to charges against an Audi manager. Several senior VW officials may yet face charges, as well, according to recent German media reports.

        A number of cities are now considering near-term diesel bans, including not only Paris but Munich, home of BMW, the world’s second-largest luxury auto manufacturer. The VW scandal has emboldened not just diesel critics but those who would like to ban all forms of internal combustion vehicles, however.

        Just late last month, officials from Prime Minister Theresa May’s government said the United Kingdom will halt sales of all new vehicles with diesel and gasoline engines by 2040 as a way to fight pollution. France is considering a similar ban Environmental Minister Nicolas Hulot in early July declaring it “a very difficult objective,” but insisting, “the solutions are there,” ahead of the opening of the G20 conference in Hamburg, Germany.

        (Click Here for more on the proposed UK ban.)

        VW and its various brands have encouraged opponents to call for bans on diesel cars.

        A small but growing number of other countries have either already laid out plans for a ban or are working on possible legislation. Norway, where one in three vehicles now being registered uses either a plug-in hybrid or pure battery-electric powertrain, will go fully electric in 2025. And heavily polluted India not only wants to ban the sale of gas and diesel vehicles by 2030, but it wants to then replace all older vehicles powered by internal combustion. And China is also taking steps to ramp up sales of electrified vehicles, though it has not yet called for a full IC engine ban.

        In some ways, a ban in Germany would be a symbolic tipping point. The country is not only one of the world’s largest producers of motor vehicles – and the largest source of luxury cars and light trucks – but its Autobahns have been symbols of the power and speed normally associated with modern internal combustion engines.

        Yet, even while the country’s manufacturers were hoping to find ways to keep diesels alive with last week’s summit meeting, they have all begun a rapid push into electrification.

        (For more on France’s proposed ban of gas and diesel vehicles, Click Here.)

        Mercedes will introduce a new battery sub-brand and launch it with a version of the Mercedes-EQ Concept.

        Volkswagen, for one, plans to have at least 20 fully electric vehicles in production by 2025. It is getting ready to launch its first long-range affordable model, the I.D., next year. Its Porsche and Audi brands are also readying costlier, high-performance models.

        Both BMW and Daimler are following similar paths. BMW already operates a sub-brand, BMW i, which focuses solely on electrified products. Daimler is launching a similar unit, Mercedes-EQ, that is working up at least seven pure battery-electric models, including one based on the EQ concept car unveiled at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

        German leaders are encouraging the industry to look at other zero-emissions options, as well, notably fuel-cell vehicles. And the country is backing that by launching an initiative that will create a nationwide network of battery chargers and hydrogen pumps all along those Autobahns over the coming decade.

        (Toyota long-range EV could bring battery breakthrough to market. To see more, Click Here.)

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: “A Path Filled With Hardships”

        Today
        FIA Formula E 2023 Jakarta teams on track REL

        FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing

        Yesterday
        2024 Lexus TX - debut front 3-4

        Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: