VW brand chief not concerned with e-fuels: ‘by 2035, combustion is over’
VW brand chief Thomas Schäfer said that recent discussion over an e-fuel exception to EU’s 2035 gas car ban is “unnecessary noise” and that “by 2035 [combustion engines] are over anyway,” in a recent interview with Automotive News Europe.
The interview mostly covered European topics, such as the availability of Volkswagen’s upcoming EVs in Europe. But the VW executive also spoke forcefully about electrification being a no-brainer.
The EU was recently about to finalize a plan to ban new internal combustion engine cars in 2035 across the bloc, but at the final hour, auto-producing countries, including Germany and Italy, objected. The proposal was slated not to get final approval until Germany made a compromise with the EU Commission, allowing e-fuels as a “climate-neutral” fuel for combustion vehicles.
E-fuels are synthetic fuels that can be produced from captured carbon emissions. They can be considered carbon neutral because those carbon emissions would have been released into the atmosphere, but are captured, turned into fuels, and then burned and… released back into the atmosphere. However, since their use as a fuel did not contribute to increased emissions over what the baseline would have been before their capture, this is why they are considered carbon neutral.
But e-fuels also need a source of carbon to be fueled with, to begin with, and most carbon capture currently happens in oil & gas fields. This carbon is often used to help drill more oil or used in tricky accounting to make firms look carbon-neutral when they aren’t. If carbon reductions from capture get double counted – for example, by the oil company doing the capturing and by the cars that are burning it – then we end up pretending that we’re making more carbon reductions than we actually are.
And they still emit as many harmful air pollutants as fossil fuels, and are therefore still harmful to human health.
It takes energy to make e-fuels as well, and that energy could just be used to fuel an electric car in the first place. Why waste solar and wind resources on converting carbon into fuel, only to burn it and release that carbon into the atmosphere, when you could just charge a car with the electricity from solar and wind in the first place?
And they also perpetuate the combustion engine. An e-fuels exception means that companies can continue making combustion engine cars, convince themselves that they’re carbon neutral, but also sell them in locales without an e-fuel requirement, which still causes just as much global warming. And those global warming emissions affect everyone, whether they happen in Europe or Saudi Arabia.
VW brand chief sees e-fuels as a distraction
So the e-fuel exemption is somewhat of a maintenance of the status quo or “unnecessary noise,” as Schäfer rightly called it:
What you do you think about Germany’s [subsequently successful] bid to modify the 2035 EU combustion engine ban to include cars powered by e-fuels?
Schäfer: That’s unnecessary noise from my point of view. By 2035 [combustion engines] are over anyway. We said by 2033 we’re done. By 2030 we plan that 80 percent of our vehicles sold in Europe are battery electric, so why spend a fortune on old technology that doesn’t really give you any benefit?
Who’s behind the German position? Party politics? VW Group CEO Oliver Blume?
Schäfer: It’s not Mr. Blume behind it. I guarantee that. This discussion around e-fuels is widely misunderstood. They have a role to play in existing fleets, but won’t replace EVs. That’s complete nonsense. Look at the physics of making e-fuels. We don’t have enough energy as it is, so why waste it on e-fuels?
VW has been among those at the forefront of the industry in terms of electrification. Much of its progress happened under former CEO Herbert Diess, who stepped down last year and was replaced by former Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.
There was some question over whether Blume would be as positive about electrification as Diess, who said consumers would be “dumb” to buy one of VW’s gas cars in 2021. But it looks like VW as a brand is at least charging forward with its EV plans, per Schäfer’s comments in this interview. And according to Schäfer, Blume, CEO of Germany’s largest company, apparently was not behind Germany’s push to get the e-fuel exemption into the EU regulations.
Schäfer points out that the e-fuel question is largely irrelevant to VW and should be irrelevant to the industry as a whole. VW is done with combustion engines, EV demand will be high by 2035, and there’s no sense in investing money to improve an inferior, older technology like combustion engines.
He also stated, in an answer about upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulations, that VW “would rather put [its] money into electrification during the final years of the combustion engine than make a final version of it that is prohibitively expensive.” If Euro 7 requires hefty R&D to make gas engines cleaner, why bother spending that money when EVs are already clean?
Electrek’s Take
Clearly, we agree with Schäfer here. Making exemptions to regulations purely to perpetuate combustion engines is folly.
Not only will companies be wasting money developing a dead-end technology (which Daimler, inventor of the combustion engine, stopped doing in 2019), but they’ll be giving up a perfectly good opportunity to electrify now. By wasting focus on dead technology, they only put themselves into a worse long-term position because the future is coming no matter what.
We see this happening in the US as well, as automakers’ current EV commitments aren’t enough in light of new EPA rules. Automakers could respond to these rules by begging for exceptions so they don’t have to follow the rules, or they could increase their commitments in recognition that technology, consumer desires, and the threat of climate change are all advancing quickly.
In the EU, some governments chose the former path, asking for exemptions. But more intelligent brands, like Voltswagen, seem to see the way the tide is changing.
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes a merger between Electric Bike Company and Integral Electrics, California looking to clamp down further on Sur Ron hooligans, a Super73 recall, Cowboy’s production move, a tour inside Bafang’s factory in China, and more.
The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:
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NIU, best known as a leader in the electric moped market, has expanded considerably over the last few years. In addition to offering a hot-selling new electric dirt bike and showing off concepts for electric ATVs, the company is now unveiling an electric microcar known as the NIUMM 500.
Still in its prototype stage, the two-seater NIUMM 500 electric microcar is designed to fit into L6e category of light quadricycles in Europe. As a quadricycle, these vehicles are technically not “cars” in the traditional sense (or in the legal sense), and thus have their own set of regulations that help streamline their path to production. Other popular microcars, such as the Citroen Ami, have taken a similar path and reached success with over 30,000 units sold.
With a target price of €8,000 (approximately US $8,300), the NIUMM 500 is intended to fill that niche role of a comfortable, weather-protected urban commuter, going beyond a typical moped or motorcycle with the advantages of locking storage and the ultimate achievement of staying dry in the rain.
In order to qualify as an L6e vehicle though, there are certain restrictions such as speed and power that prevent the NIUMM 500 from laying down the fastest lap times. A top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) keeps the microcar city-oriented, though you could probably tell by looking that this isn’t a highway vehicle.
In some countries, light quadricycles don’t even require a full car driver’s license, instead allowing the operator to hold a more easily-obtainable moped permit.
Despite the speed limitation, the little electric microcar has a lot going for it. The traditional steering wheel control and two-pedal drive setup will feel familiar to seasoned car drivers, yet the vehicle offers a more moped-like parking experience by taking up a mere fraction of a parking spot. The narrow size helps squeeze through tight city streets, though you likely won’t be lane splitting quite like a moped.
Back on the car-like side of things, electric locks and power windows come standard (including a power rear windshield), as does electric heating. Optional add-ons include a sun roof and air conditioning. There’s a decently large storage area behind the two seats, and another small storage area in front of the passenger seat.
And in another nod to its hybrid design, halfway between a moped and a car, the NIUMM 500 can even be outfitted with removable batteries (straight from NIU’s NQiX electric mopeds). The removable battery version allows apartment dwellers or others without access to street-level parking to still own and charge their own microcar. Just like how I charge my own NIU batteries at home, owners can simply carry the batteries up the elevator and charge them in their apartment.
For those with charging access though, there’s a fixed battery version with a larger 7 kWh capacity. It gets an impressive 118 km (73 miles) of range, compared to the removable battery version’s 60 km (37 miles) of range.
Both appear to feature the same 5 kW motor with a peak output of 10 kW – also the same drivetrain from the NIU NQiX electric moped.
NIU is currently showing off the new vehicle at the Motorrad show in Dortmund, Germany.
There’s no word yet on if or when the NIUMM 500 will see production, but based on conversations with company insiders, it sounds like NIU is fairly serious about the microcar’s future.
Here’s to hoping it sees the road soon, and that they can keep that target price in check on the way there.
Electrek’s Take
Yes, I’m all in on this!
I LOVE electric microcars. Give me a tiny car, a golf cart, whatever you want to call it, and I’ll take it. For city commuters, 25 mph is often sufficient, and since many people don’t feel safe on a scooter, these types of vehicles fit the bill as lighter and more efficient alternatives to a car that still carry some benefits of a scooter or moped.
I tested out Wink Motors’ vehicles in NYC a couple of years ago and got around the city just fine with a top speed of 25 mph, so I think these could even work in the US. But of course Europe is the primary target here thanks to their more conducive quadricycle laws.
If anyone at NIU is reading this, I will travel to review!
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Renewables increased their output by almost 10% and provided nearly a quarter of US electrical generation in 2024, according to newly released US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
Solar was still No 1
Solar remained the US’s fastest-growing source of electricity in 2024. Utility-scale and “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar combined increased by 26.9% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report data.
Utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 32%, while small-scale solar increased by 15.3%. Together, solar was nearly 7% (6.91%) of total US electrical generation for the year.
In December alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar expanded by 42% compared to December 2023.
Small-scale solar (systems <1 MW) accounted for 27.9% of all solar generation and provided 1.9% of the US electricity supply in 2024. In fact, small-scale solar PV generates over five times more electricity than utility-scale geothermal.
2024 renewables milestones
The electrical output of US wind farms in 2024 grew by 7.7% year-over-year. Wind remains the largest source of electrical generation among renewable energy sources, accounting for 10.3% of the US total.
Wind and solar combined provided more than 17.2% of US electrical generation during 2024. The mix of all renewables – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal – provided 24.2% of total US electricity production in 2024 compared to 23.2% of electrical output a year earlier.
Between January and December, electrical generation by renewables grew by 9.6% compared to the same period the year before – nearly three times the growth rate of natural gas (3.3%) and over 10 times that of nuclear power (0.9%).
In December alone, electrical generation by renewables grew by 10.1% compared to December 2023.
Wind and solar together produced 15.9% more electricity than coal and came close to matching nuclear power’s share of total generation (17.2% vs. 17.8%).
The mix of renewables reinforced their position as the second largest source of electrical generation, behind only natural gas.
“Renewable energy sources now provide a quarter of the nation’s electricity,” said the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Consequently, the rash efforts of the Trump Administration to undermine wind, solar, and other renewables will have serious negative consequences for the nation’s electricity supply and the economy.”
Read more: Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
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