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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With 272 miles of range and more room inside its walls than your first apartment, GM’s Chevy Brightdrop electric van is one of the best commercial EVs you can buy. And if you’re a Costco Executive member, you can get one for yourself or your business with an absolutely incredible $31,500 discount. (!)
Fleet electrification expert Tony Nisam took to LinkedIn yesterday to post a deal that he ran across at a Washington State Costco that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in “regular” Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in “LIMITED-TIME” Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.
Do a bit of math (add up 25,500 + 3,000 + $2,750 + 250), and you’ll calculate an almost unheard of $31,500 discount on one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market – ICE or electric. And that’s before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised at Blade Chevrolet, the Mount Vernon, Washington, where VIN 2G58J2TY6S9104313 (the exact van shown, below) is shown as stock number 16757.
If you’re not a Costco member yet and you’re looking for a new truck for your business or even a unique #vanlife ride with zero emissions, modern tech, and a nationwide dealer network, GM makes that $130 Executive membership seem like a no-brainer.
Kind of a big deal
“But wait,” says the floating, disembodied ghost of the great Billy Mays. “There’s more!” In addition to the $31,500 worth of discounts Costco Executive members get, there are deals to be had on chargers AND a number of other state and local utility incentives your business might qualify for, bringing the cost of adding a new Chevy Brightdrop to your fleet even lower. In northern Illinois, for example, ComEd commercial customers can get up to $7,500 in rebates for a new Brightdrop Zevo van.
Is a $39,000 price cut enough to get you to take a look at a new Brightdrop? At $45,235 (from a starting price of $84,235), can you afford not to? Head down to the comments and let us know.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Tony Nisam.
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Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruck’s range extender from the options in its online configurator.
Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?
When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.
The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.
Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.
As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.
However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.
Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.
Initially, Tesla said that it would come “early 2025”, but we reported that it was pushed to “mid-2025” late last year.
At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.
Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit”, as seen on the image above, but now it’s not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.
It’s unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.
In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:
Electrek’s Take
I’m curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?
At first, I was curious about the product even though I didn’t think it would make up for Tesla’s significant miss on Cybertruck specs.
However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think it’s pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.
It’s going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now that’s if it makes it to market.
With the option being removed from the configurator, there’s no production timeline available. Again, the last one was “mid-2025”, which is soon.
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Environment
EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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