As Germany strives to meet a target of 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Monday an additional 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion) in research and development, doubling its budget by 2013.
The German government is banking on EVs more than ever and that bodes well for Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, which all manufacture this type of vehicles.
"We're going to see these vehicles come in very quickly", though "the really broad market debut will still take a couple of years", Merkel said. "I'm certain that German producers will be in the fray at the right time".
In a weekly podcast posted on her website two days ago, the Chancellor stated that the construction of batteries and the necessary infrastructure to enable them to be charged were the two biggest challenges to the development of EVs.
Germany's strategy will get a big boost in the upcoming months and years with the announcement of tax rebates, dedicated parking spots and various measures aimed at promoting government use of EVs.
Source : Automotive News
The German government is banking on EVs more than ever and that bodes well for Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, which all manufacture this type of vehicles.
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| Photo: Nissan |
"We're going to see these vehicles come in very quickly", though "the really broad market debut will still take a couple of years", Merkel said. "I'm certain that German producers will be in the fray at the right time".
In a weekly podcast posted on her website two days ago, the Chancellor stated that the construction of batteries and the necessary infrastructure to enable them to be charged were the two biggest challenges to the development of EVs.
Germany's strategy will get a big boost in the upcoming months and years with the announcement of tax rebates, dedicated parking spots and various measures aimed at promoting government use of EVs.
Source : Automotive News