Germany Votes to Ban Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles; Transport Minister Calls It ‚"Utter Nonsense"

Earlier this month, the German Bundesrat (a council of 16 German states) voted for a non-binding resolution to ban vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel by 2030.¹ This was an ideological move that is intended to place additional pressure on the European Commission to promote zero-emission vehicles. The German Transport Minister, Alexander Dobrint, calls the resolution ‚"utter nonsense" and will not approve it were it to cross his desk.² German carmakers may have expected this resolution because Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are producing electric vehicles and have more on the drawing board. However, despite this vote, sales of electric vehicles have decreased in Western Europe while automobile sales have increased. This is despite lucrative financial incentives for purchasing an electric vehicle in many European countries. In Germany itself, financial incentives are insufficient to promote very many electric vehicle sales.