Comment by jack_tripper 3 hours ago
>They need to prop up dying German car companies
Germany isn't the only economy dependent on the legacy auto sector. France, Italy, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia and Belgium also have a lot of jobs, or had, in the auto industry, before the mass layoff of the last 2-3 years.
Stubbornness to change is part of Germany's national identity, more often than not towards its own detriment.
But also, Merz is not alone in this, but a lot of Eastern Europe can't afford EVs at current EU prices so the EU has to make some concessions. People in Romania or Bulgaria can't afford to buy a Polestar like people in Netherlands can.
EU leaders needs to account for the massive disparities of purchasing power between places like Nordics and Romania/Bulgaria for example when they make sweeping legislation like that.
Sure it would be nice if all of EU was like Norway with only EVs everywhere, but this way you'd basically be bankrupting and turning against you the people in the poorer countries of the union who are already disproportionately affected by the CoL crisis of the EU, who are effectively paying German energy and grocery prices but at Eastern EU salaries and pensions. This is not sustainable.
Not to mention the disparity in public transportation infrastructure where a car is basically mandatory for commuting outside big cities in place like Romania.
I doubt the average citizen in the Netherlands can afford EVs at current EU prices either.
And at the rate car prices are increasing for no good reason, I doubt the average EU citizen will be able to afford a car in the future.
The EU does need to find a middle ground between mandatory safety features that are unaffordable and free for all pedestrian killing machines.
And protectionism ain't it. It will only increase the prices for domestic cars until the likes of VW have to close up shop because no one can afford what they're peddling any more.
I think Eastern Europe can afford EVs now. 20,000 euros for the Twingo, 15,000 euros for Dacia Spring. This is cheaper than most petrol cars.
Have you considered that many people in Eastern Europe might not be able to afford a new car at all? Where I live people are keeping their older cars for longer and buying used because everything else is getting more expensive and nobody wants to go in debt for something marginally better than what they already have.
Yes, but that's also the case in Sweden and France and Spain etc. But these new things are obviously competing with other new things.
The average age of a car currently on the road in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece is about 16 years old. How do you think all those people with 16 year old beaters, will suddenly be able to afford the 20k cars?
Yes, lets hand over the one last big industry we have to China and hope for the best, we totally haven't learnt anything from the domestic electronics industry. And let the easterners drive shitty Chinese EVs instead of Skodas so that some elite in Brussels can feel good about themselves. As if East Europeans haven't been through enough yet.
Yes, but in France Renault just made a new Twingo, to be electric, for 20,000 euro, and they're starting to make electric sports cars (A290, future electric A110), so I wouldn't call that 'legacy auto'.
True, France does too of course, but Germany has been particularly stubborn. There's infighting within Europe, for that matter - note Polestar opposing Merz's attempts to weaken Europe's phase out of combustion vehicles. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirmingham/volvo-and-pole...