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THE FUTURE IS ELECTRIC

At least that is the main message the we get here in Germany. And indeed, the amount of electric or partly electric vehicles has increased. No wonder everybody speaks about it. But are electric cars really more environmentally friendly than petrol engined cars? Does the electric car have a future? It extinguished once, who can tell us why this shouldn’t happen again?

There are a lot of questions in the room. Questions we can not easily answer with “yes” or “no”. We always have to look at the big picture. And therefore be careful when choosing a side. I know, it feels hard to question the status Q or maybe even swimming against the stream, but in real life we should start using our head and find the truth by ourselves.

But today is not about telling you the truth. Today is about the E-Mobility lie.

What are the first words that come to mind? Sure, depending on your knowledge this will change, but just have a look at a couple of commercials that are out there in the World Wide Web and tell me that I am right. What they are presenting is this:

E-Mobility = Environmentally friendly, no emissions, the future, silent cars, autonomous driving, fun, …

The list goes on of course, but the main points are already stated out. And that is the problem that I see. They are selling products to customers who think that they are actually doing something positive for the environment. But do they? Are electric cars really better for our planet? Of course you can come up with scenarios that will be better! No doubt about that. But if we are speaking about the average use case. How much better is it really?

I don’t want to say that the E-Mobility doesn’t have a future, because everything can have a future. Someone just needs to pay for it! But I want to say this:

Car manufacturer do not build electric cars because that is the next logical step in technology. No! They just have to build them in order to survive as a company on the European market. With the emission legislation getting stricter and stricter each year, the E-Mobility has a huge advantage. Because it is better? Because the emissions are smaller? Because it’s the future? Well, in fact it’s just that. The emissions are not getting calculated all the way, experts use the terminology “well to wheel”, but from “tank to wheel”. Meaning that an electric car is miraculously charged and the process of creating that energy is not calculated. We speak about locally emission free vehicles and lie ourself right into the face. WTF?! That’s so wrong! How can someone come up with such an idea? Why do we compare two different concepts without looking at the whole picture?

That’s like doing a comparison between a normal VW Golf and a Ferrari, using the 0 – 300 km/h time and stating out that the Ferrari wins, ignoring the fact that the VW Golf couldn’t even reach the 300 km/h limit and therefore couldn’t set a time to compare it with.

How is that possible? How can we be that stupid! And don’t get me wrong, it’s not the car manufacture that are doing something wrong! No, they are just playing to the rules and try to survive as a company. It’s the politicians that caused this problem! But instead of realizing the mistake they have made and changing something, they have even started to subsidize the electric vehicle.

I for example drive a hybrid car. I have leased it for 3 years. Why do I have it? Because I want to do something for the environment? Because that is the future? Well, no! Of course not! I have this car because I am a rational thinker who enjoys saving money! Germany supported me with 4.500€, the car manufacturer with additional money I could invest into the cars equipment which makes it really attractive to have such a car, don’t you think? But it gets even better. You pay close to zero taxes even though your petrol engine has the same, if not a higher emission then a comparable fully petrol engined car. You can use electric lanes, use electric parking spaces and enjoy the image of being environmentally friendly, when in fact, the car will take years to gain an advantage, if it will do that, considering the battery getting older, the complex recycling process and the like.

Electric cars can be the future. But they should play with open cards.

It’s definitely a topic people can have different opinion about. And sure, we should all find our own one! I am not against the E-Mobility, but I can’t stand it when people are praising it into heaven without having any clue about reality! The future can be electric, the future can also not be electric. There are multiple ways of moving on. Not the best concept will win, but the one that get’s the most investments. Or have you ever asked yourself where we will get all that electric energy here in Germany once every fifth or so household has an electric car? And do you know where the electric energy is coming from? Do you know how much emissions we produce in order to have electric energy? How much coal we are burning?

I don’t want to decide on a side, I just want transparency.

See you next time!