Andrea Montermini, VP and Managing Director for Western Europe at EFESO Management Consultants, shares his perspective on electric cars in l'Economia*.
Electric cars: concerns about 2035 and Chinese uncertainty
Will 2035 survive 2024? The outcome of the European elections will also be decisive for the fate of the 2035 ban on diesel and gasoline car sales in the EU. The prevailing orientation in the politics of various countries seems to herald a change. “I believe there will be some form of rethinking regarding the timing and modalities of the ban, predicts Andrea Montermini, Vice President and Managing Director for Western Europe at EFESO Management Consultants. “The auto industry is not against the shift, but hopes it will be technology agnostic: that is, that alongside electric there will be room for hydrogen, biofuels, and synthetic fuels."
Western automakers have already invested hundreds of milliards to develop a battery-powered range. There is no going back, but a slowdown would allow other avenues to be considered. After all, the growth of electrics is slowing and depends on incentives. Chinese competition then undermines the European auto industry, one of the continent's largest employers. “In the coming months, 110 electric models are expected to be launched in China,” the manager notes.
The battle on mass-market electric cars is already lost, unless we give the European industry time to find efficient technological alternatives." According to Montermini, however, duties on imports of battery-powered cars from China are not a solution: “They can give some breathing room, gaining two to three years, but not stop a structural trend”.
On the contrary, “one could extend the deadline for hybrid cars and, in the meantime, work on the development of hydrogen and alternative fuels, also to take into account the different use cases of cars: it is not always the case that electric is the best solution, including environmental, for those who drive few kilometers per year.”
*The economic supplement of the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
