A clean drive?

This week IAA in Frankfurt - the biggest car show in Europe - opened its gates to the public. 'Green' and 'Eco' are in every headline. The car industry is in deep crisis as sales have dropped dramatically over the last year and the legal framework within the EU shifted towards much lower emissions. Will we now see a wave of environmentally friendly cars?     

There seem to be two main trends: electric cars and energy efficient cars. Each car manufacturer has at least one electric model on the show. Renault shows four. Most of the electric cars though are concepts and prototypes ready to hit the road in 2013 or later. The big technological problems are the reach of the cars which at this stage does not go beyond 250km and the price of the battery. The battery for an electric Smart two seater is currently 9,800 euro , which is the price of a small car. Despite that, the expectation is that by 2020 9% of all cars will be electric.

As Greenpeace points out, an electric car might not necessarily be more environmentally friendly. The electricity used might come from a coal fired power plant, which makes the  car even more polluting than a petrol car. Sufficient renewable power will have to be available.

VW (again) showcased the one litre car (it needs one liter of petrol for 100km). The most efficient current models run on 4 to 5 litres. The big advantage of this technology is that the car can run for 400 to 600 km and  is refilled within 5 minutes while an electric car needs charging time or a replacement battery. Although the one litre car generates a lot of know-how and innovation, it is not yet ready for mass production.

In 1997 Toyota first introduced the hybrid car. The technology is becoming mainstream and can be seen in more and more models.

Within the EU the average CO2 emissions of cars will have to be 98 grams per kilometre, which equates to about 4 liters of petrol per 100km. The current average  C02 emission is 160 grams per kilometer. From 2019 the manufacturers will have to pay 95 euro for each gram above the limit of 98g/km per car produced, which could become very pricy.

Although most consumers claim that they would like to do their bit to protect the environment, their opinion quickly changes when they come to the till: 28% would not spend more on an environmentally friendly car. Only 8% of consumers are prepared to spend up to 1,500 euros extra. Running costs seem strikingly irrelevant in the purchasing decision considering the car could run one 1 litre of petrol rather than 8 liters or more.

Sadly, the number of consumers who will currently compromise and make an investment is very small.

© M.HAUS 2009