German Economic and Climate Protection Minister Habeck at BMW in Munich
By Doyinsola Oladipo
April 14, 2022
NEW YORK (Reuters) -BMW Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse said companies must be careful not to become too dependent on a select few countries by focusing only on electric vehicles, adding that there was still a market for combustion engine cars.
"When you look at the technology coming out, the EV push, we must be careful because at the same time, you increase dependency on very few countries," Zipse said at a roundtable in New York, highlighting that the supply of raw materials for batteries was controlled mostly by China.
"If someone cannot buy an EV for some reason but needs a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever? If you are not selling combustion engines anymore, someone else will," said Zipse.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -BMW Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse said companies must be careful not to become too dependent on a select few countries by focusing only on electric vehicles, adding that there was still a market for combustion engine cars.
"When you look at the technology coming out, the EV push, we must be careful because at the same time, you increase dependency on very few countries," Zipse said at a roundtable in New York, highlighting that the supply of raw materials for batteries was controlled mostly by China.
"If someone cannot buy an EV for some reason but needs a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever? If you are not selling combustion engines anymore, someone else will," said Zipse.
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He has long advocated against all-out bans on combustion engine car sales in the face of rising pressure from regulators on the auto industry to curb its carbon emissions and environmental impact.
Offering more fuel-efficient combustion engine cars was key both from a profit perspective and an environmental perspective, Zipse argued, pointing to gaps in charging infrastructure and the high price of electric vehicles.
Companies also needed to plan for energy prices and raw materials to remain high by being more efficient in their production and stepping up recycling efforts to keep costs down, he said.
"We have a peak now, they might not stay at the peak, but they will not go back to former prices," he said. "How much energy you need and use, and circularity, is important - for environmental reasons but even more for economic reasons."
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Mike Harrison)
Mercedes-Benz completes 1,000 km electric drive on energy-efficient design
April 13, 2022, 4:06 PM2 min read
Bangkok International Motor Show
BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz aims to produce electric cars consuming as little as 10 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 km (62 miles), its chief technology officer (CTO) said on Thursday, a third more efficient than the current average for electric cars.
Speaking as the carmaker celebrated the successful test drive of its EQXX prototype vehicle over more than 1,000 km from Sindelfingen in Germany to the Cote d'Azur on a single charge, CTO Markus Schaefer said efficient design was key to maximising an electric car's range.
"First we optimise efficiency, and then we can see how many battery modules we put in the car," Schaefer said at a media roundtable, adding that customers should be able to decide the size of the battery they want based on their needs.
Carmakers from Mercedes-Benz to Tesla to China's Nio are in a neck-to-neck race to produce higher range cars that dispel consumer anxiety over the lack of widespread charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Mercedes unveiled its Vision EQXX prototype, boasting a 1,000 km-range with a battery half the volume of its flagship EQS model, in January, promising that some of the car's components would make their way into series vehicles in 2-3 years time.
The car spent 8.7 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 km on its 11-and-a-half hour drive to France, Mercedes-Benz said, about twice as efficient as Mercedes models on the market and Tesla's longest-range car on offer, the Model S 60.
Mercedes' EQS has the highest range on the market as of yet, according to car comparison portal carwow, with 768 km, followed by Tesla's Model S Long Range with up to 652 km.
"There'll be a further increase for some time before a fall, which will happen once charging infrastructure is as available as petrol stations," Schaefer said, although he declined to state what range Mercedes was targeting in future models.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Ilona Wissenbach; editing by Richard Pullin)
April 13, 2022, 4:06 PM2 min read
Bangkok International Motor Show
BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz aims to produce electric cars consuming as little as 10 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 km (62 miles), its chief technology officer (CTO) said on Thursday, a third more efficient than the current average for electric cars.
Speaking as the carmaker celebrated the successful test drive of its EQXX prototype vehicle over more than 1,000 km from Sindelfingen in Germany to the Cote d'Azur on a single charge, CTO Markus Schaefer said efficient design was key to maximising an electric car's range.
"First we optimise efficiency, and then we can see how many battery modules we put in the car," Schaefer said at a media roundtable, adding that customers should be able to decide the size of the battery they want based on their needs.
Carmakers from Mercedes-Benz to Tesla to China's Nio are in a neck-to-neck race to produce higher range cars that dispel consumer anxiety over the lack of widespread charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Mercedes unveiled its Vision EQXX prototype, boasting a 1,000 km-range with a battery half the volume of its flagship EQS model, in January, promising that some of the car's components would make their way into series vehicles in 2-3 years time.
The car spent 8.7 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 km on its 11-and-a-half hour drive to France, Mercedes-Benz said, about twice as efficient as Mercedes models on the market and Tesla's longest-range car on offer, the Model S 60.
Mercedes' EQS has the highest range on the market as of yet, according to car comparison portal carwow, with 768 km, followed by Tesla's Model S Long Range with up to 652 km.
"There'll be a further increase for some time before a fall, which will happen once charging infrastructure is as available as petrol stations," Schaefer said, although he declined to state what range Mercedes was targeting in future models.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Ilona Wissenbach; editing by Richard Pullin)
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