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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Believe it or not, you can lease an EV for under $200 a month. New deals on models like the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6 are hard to pass up this month.
Electric vehicles have been all over the news lately, with the Trump administration threatening to end federal incentives and introducing new tariffs that are expected to lead to higher prices.
On the positive side, new EV models are arriving, giving buyers more options and driving prices down. Many automakers reported record US electric car sales in the first three months of 2024.
GM remained the number two seller of EVs behind Tesla after sales doubled in Q1 2025. With the new Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs rolling out, Chevy is now the fastest-growing EV brand in the US. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is off to its best sales start since launching, with over 11,600 models sold in the first quarter.
With the 2025 models rolling out and about 15 new EVs arriving this year, many automakers are introducing steep discounts to move vehicles off the lot.
EVs for lease for under $200 a month in April
Although the decade-old Nissan LEAF remains one of the most affordable this April at just $149 per month, there are a few EVs under $200 right now that are worth taking a look at.
The new 2025 Hyundai IONIQ might be the best EV deal this month, with leases as low as $199. Hyundai is currently promoting a 24-month lease deal with $3,999 due at signing.
Hyundai upgraded the electric SUV with a bigger battery for more range (now up to 318 miles), a sleek new look inside and out, and it now comes with an NACS port so you can charge it at Tesla Superchargers.
The offer is for the IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range, which has a driving range of up to 245 miles. For just $229 a month, you can snag the SE RWD model, which has a range of up to 318 miles and a more powerful (225 horsepower) electric motor. It’s also a 24-month lease with $3,999 due at signing.
To sweeten the deal, Hyundai is offering a free ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 EV charger with the purchase or lease of any 2024 or 2025 IONIQ 5. If you already have one, you can opt for a $400 public charging credit.
After slashing lease prices this month, the 2025 Nissan Ariya is actually cheaper than the LEAF in some regions. In Southern California, the 2025 Nissan Ariya Evolve AWD is listed at just $129 per month. The AWD model has a range of up to 272 miles.
The deal is for 36 months, with $4,409 due at signing. In April, Nissan cut Ariya lease prices to around $239 in most other parts of the country.
Kia has a few EVs available to lease for under $200 a month in April. The 2025 Kia Niro EV Wind is listed at just $129 for 24 months, with $3,999 due at signing. Kia’s crossover SUV has EPA-estimated range of 253 miles.
The 2024 EV6 may be worth considering at just $179 for 24 months ($3,999 due at signing). In California, the EV6 Light Long Range RWD is only slightly more than the Niro Wind.
In most other parts of the country, you can still find the EV6 for under $200 a month. The Light Long Range RWD trim offers up to 310 miles of EPA-estimated range.
| Lease Price | Term (months) |
Amount Due at Signing | Driving Range | |
| 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range | $199 | 24 | $3,999 | 245 miles |
| 2024 Kia EV6 Light Long Rang RWD | $179 | 24 | $3,999 | 310 miles |
| 2024 Kia Niro EV Wind | $129 | 24 | $3,999 | 253 miles |
| 2025 Nissan Ariya Evolve AWD | $129 | 36 | $4,409 | 272 miles |
| 2025 Nissan LEAF S FWD | $149 | 36 | $2,629 | 149 miles |
| 2024 Fiat 500 INSPI(RED) | $199 | 24 | $2,999 | 149 miles |
And don’t forget the 2024 Fiat 500e, which is now listed at just $199 for 24 months with $2,999 due at signing. The electric hatchback offers a range of up to 149 miles.
If you are looking to spend a little more, check out our list of EVs you can lease for under $300 a month.
Ready to snag the savings while they are still here? At under $200 a month, some of these EV lease deals are hard to pass up right now. Check out our links below to find deals in your area.
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![The US’s first solar panels over canals pilot is now online [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/Project-Nexus-solar-canal.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Project Nexus, the first solar panel canopies over irrigation canals in the US, is now online in California, and there are plans to expand the project to other areas.
Project Nexus is a $20 million pilot in central California’s Turlock Irrigation District launched in October 2022. The project team is exploring solar over canal design, deployment, and co-benefits using canal infrastructure and the electrical grid.
India already has solar panels over canals, but Project Nexus is the first of its kind in the US.
The Turlock Irrigation District was the first irrigation district formed in California in 1887. It provides irrigation water to 4,700 growers who farm around 150,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley.
Project Nexus will explore whether the solar panels reduce water evaporation as a result of midday shade and wind mitigation, create improvements to water quality through reduced vegetative growth, reduce canal maintenance as a result of reduced vegetative growth, and, of course, generate renewable electricity.
The California Department of Water Resources, utility company Turlock Irrigation District, Marin County, California-based water and energy project developer Solar AquaGrid, and The University of California, Merced, are partnering on the pilot. Project Nexus originated from a 2021 research project led by UC Merced alumna and project scientist Brandi McKuin.
Solar panels were installed at two sites over both wide- and narrow-span sections of Turlock Irrigation District canals in Stanislaus County, in various orientations. The sections range from 20 feet wide to 100 feet wide. University of California, Merced has positioned research equipment at both sites to collect baseline data so the researchers can decide where solar will work and where it won’t.
In February 2023, Project Nexus announced it would also deploy long-term iron flow battery storage in the form of two ESS 75kW turnkey “Energy Warehouse” batteries.
You can learn more about Project Nexus here:
Read more: In a US first, California will pilot solar-panel canopies over canals
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