'Electric' is the buzz word at the Frankfurt International Motor Show.
ADVERTISEMENTThe world’s biggest carmaker is to offer an electric version of all its vehicles by 2030. Volkswagen becomes the latest manufacturer to distance itself from petrol and diesel models.
Its CEO, Matthias Mueller, said the company was committed to helping reduce air pollution.
“We have started an initiative together with Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Ford to be committed to building a network of charging stations in the European highways. This installation will begin in the next year and I think it will be finished by 2020 at the latest.”
A host of car manufacturers are showing off their latest creations at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. Among them are German company BMW, which claims to be ahead of the curve.
“You know, I always find it interesting what the competition is saying because many of them are saying; ‘In two years, in three years we will do this.’ Well you see beside us here nine electro vehicles already, this year we are planning to sell 100,000, we’re well on track to do that. So you could say from a BMW perspective we’re already moving to the next phase,” said member of BMW’s management board, Ian Robertson.
But others argue that hydrogen is the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable power form as batteries are not necessarily clean to make.
Mercedes, in collaboration with Ford, has just announced it will be adding a hydrogen fuel cell car to US roads by 2019. The model will run on hydrogen and emit only water vapour, putting it into competition with Japanese car makers Honda and Toyota.
But the world may not quite be ready for water power, as Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, explained:
“Hydrogen fuel cell cars are too expensive, and too limited in their functionality,” he said. “They still can’t compete, largely because there aren’t enough [charging] stations.”