Mercedes, VW Want Berlin to Speed Up Development of EV Charging Infrastructure
- February 20, 2023
- Posted by: Quatro Strategies
- Category: Infrastructure
German automotive giants Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have urged the government to speed up the development of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country. “To speed up the change (to electric vehicles), we need to be sure that the charging station infrastructure is being built up. That’s also a question for politics.” Mercedes-Benz Chief Executive Kallenius said.
Volkswagen Group Chief Executive Blume agreed that an acceleration was needed and that the building of new charging stations was “a common task of the economy, federal government and communes”.
Berlin last October approved a plan to spend €6.3 billion to rapidly scale up the number of charging stations across the country, as part of its push towards net zero emissions. The plan included speeding up state approvals to build charging points.
Industry associations, which have long criticized the government for being unable to keep pace with the rapid expansion of EVs, said the implementation of the proposals was key.
“The future of the car is electric,” Kallenius said. “By the end of this decade, we want to be ready to completely transition to electric cars in our market segment, wherever the market conditions allow it,” he added.
“It’s not a foregone conclusion, rather it will require a gigantic industrial conversion.”
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