TURIN – The die is cast: the internal combustion engine is destined for extinction. The question now is just when. The car industry has given a decisive acceleration towards electrification as it has acknowledged that the proposal under discussion at the European Commission provides for a 60% cut in CO2 emissions for cars and light commercial vehicles by 2030 (compared to 37 , 5% of current legislation), followed by 100% by 2035. Cutting emissions by 100% means that it will become impossible to sell vehicles with internal combustion engines that emit carbon dioxide by burning fuel.
Thus, since the beginning of the year, a race has begun to present strategic plans that aim only at battery-powered models. In February with the plan Reimagine, Jaguar had announced the turn towards electric from 2025. “There is no long-term future for endothermic cars,” Volvo’s technical director Henrik Green explained in March, announcing that from 2030 the Swedish company would only sell electric cars. gradually eliminating all petrol, diesel and even hybrid models. Then Ford of Europe also announced a “battery only” from 2030.
With the program Accelerate in March, the Volkswagen brand had decided it wanted to double the share of electric vehicles sold in Europe to 70% by 2030, but at the end of June it raised the bar by announcing to eliminate thermal cars in Europe between 2033 and 2035 An even more ambitious plan is that of Audi, which will be electric only by 2033 and from 2026 will launch only zero-emission models on the global market. Renault also gave a strong acceleration to the electric strategy with the aim of having the greenest mix on the European market in 2025: over 65% of battery vehicle sales and then climbing up to 90% in 2030.
And what about the individual countries? Here is the top 10 of the end of diesel and petrol engines, even in the most ecological variant, the plug-in hybrids.
Norway: 2025 (4 YEARS)
Norway will be the first European country to ban the sale of internal combustion cars in 4 years, starting from 2025. “We are on track to reach the goal,” explained the president of the Norwegian Road Federation, Øyvind Thorsen, commenting on the results. last year when sales of electric vehicles (BEVs) surpassed those powered by petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrids. With 54.3% pure electric sales in 2020 compared to 42.4% in 2019 and just 1% ten years ago, the Nordic country is the first in the world for the share of battery-only cars. The Audi e-tron was the best-selling last year and even in the previous two years the leaders were fully electric: the Tesla Model 3 (2019) and the Nissan LEAF (2018). For 2021 the forecast is to exceed 65% of e-cars.
Denmark: 2030 (9 YEARS)
To achieve the objectives formulated in 2018 to ban the sale of new cars with petrol and diesel engines by 2030 and plug-in hybrids after 2035, in December the Danish Parliament approved a tax plan with a budget of around 340 million. euro so as to put at least 775,000 electric and hybrid cars into circulation by the end of the decade. The plan includes a gradual increase in CO2-related taxes for cars with internal combustion engines and incentives for electric cars and recharging. “The average electric car will be significantly cheaper in the next few years”, explained Finance Minister Morten Boedskov, because the government’s goal is to reach one million low-emission cars by 2030. Currently there are only 20,000 cars. in Denmark, 0.8% of the 2.5 million cars in circulation.
Iceland (2030) 9 YEARS
With 25% electric share and 45% plug-in, Iceland has quietly become one of the markets with the highest penetration of electrified vehicles, but the foundation for low-carbon transport has been laid for decades. does. Renewable energy, low electricity prices coupled with high fossil fuel prices and a high rate of urbanization make Iceland an ideal market for battery-powered vehicles. With almost 100% of electricity generated from renewable sources (three quarters hydroelectric and one quarter geothermal) Iceland, together with Norway, is the only country that can provide recharges with green energy.
Ireland (2030) 9 YEARS
The Irish government has great ambitions to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by exploiting the potential of a relatively small country where 63% of the population lives in urban areas with distances ranging from 170 to 260 km. To these are added a large availability of renewable energies that derive from wind power and the wave motion of the seas. In 2019 with the Climate Action Plan a ban on the sale of internal combustion vehicles has been enacted from 2030. In addition, last year the government doubled investments to 36 million euros for a generous package of incentives for electric vehicles, investments in low-emission technologies and infrastructure adequate charging. In 2020, the share of BEVs rose to 4.5% and is expected to double this year.
Holland (2030) 9 YEARS
The Netherlands, with 21% share of electric vehicles and 4% of plug-in hybrids, has become one of the main green mobility markets both in Europe and globally. In addition to the substantial purchase incentives and tax reliefs distributed over the years, the Netherlands boasts the largest number of public charging stations in Europe. In addition, cities like Amsterdam, which aspires to be carbon free by 2030, Rotterdam and The Hague offer free public charging points at the request of individuals and businesses when charging at home or in the workplace is not feasible. The government also aims to have a minimum of 30 cities that implement zero-emission zones for urban logistics by 2025. The country is therefore on track to meet the 2030 target of selling only zero-emission vehicles.
Slovenia (2030) 9 YEARS
Green mobility has been a hot topic in Slovenia in recent years. While the share of electric vehicles is relatively low, just 3.1% in 2020, it has grown rapidly, supported by government incentives, the development of refueling infrastructure and aided by relatively short distances between major cities. The banning of internal combustion vehicles will be gradual over five years and linked to emission levels. According to the plan introduced by the government in 2017, the sale of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with CO2 emissions above 100 g / km will be banned after 2025.
Sweden (2030) 9 YEARS
Sweden aims to move away from fossil fuels for cars starting in 2030, with a climate action plan from December 2019 that set out measures to achieve these goals. The incentive package adopted so far has evidently favored the sale of plug-in hybrids which at the end of 2020 reached 32% of share, however the absolute higher increase (+ 310%) of electric has brought them to 10% of market share. The new bonus-malus policy linked to CO2 emissions has increased the incentive for electric cars by 1,000 euros, favoring their growth, also driven by a 25% increase in tax benefits for companies that replace the fleet with zero-fuel vehicles emissions.
Great Britain (2030) 9 YEARS
Britain, which in 2017 had planned to ban the sale of endothermic vehicles in 2040, then anticipated in 2032, last November set it at 2030. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also added that “the sale of cars and plug-in hybrid vans with significant range in electric mode only until 2035 “. In support of the so-called green revolution the Government has allocated 1.3 billion pounds in charging points and 583 million in incentive packages for the purchase of electric vehicles and nearly 500 million for the production of batteries in the Midlands and in the north-east of England. Some positive signs emerged already last year with plug-ins reaching 11% share and electric 7%. Figures destined to grow again this year.
France (2040) 19 YEARS
France will ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles starting in 2040, however there is strong pressure to shorten this timeline to 2030-2035. In 2020, 47% of the vehicles sold were internal combustion, 15% hybrid of which 4.5% plug-in and almost 7% electric. In the first quarter of this year, the shares of green-cars are constantly increasing: plug-ins have exceeded 7% and electric cars are close to 8%. The growth of zero-emission vehicles will continue to be supported by tax advantages and government support which has reformulated the bonus-malus scheme with incentives of up to 12,000 euros for the purchase and penalties of up to 20,000 euros for polluting ones that emit over 220 g / km of CO2. There are currently 107,000 electrified vehicles in circulation in France and there are around 16,000 charging points across the country.
Italy (2040) 19 years old
The countdown to ban the sale of internal combustion engines has also started in Italy. The deadline could “be 2040” declared Enrico Giovannini, Minister of Infrastructures and Sustainable Mobility, a guest a few days ago of TechTalk (daily meeting of the GEDI group). From that date in our country we will move only in electric “with the manufacturers who are accelerating a lot” both on the product offer and on the reduction of battery costs. The Minister also announced incentives to renovate the fleet, one of the oldest in Europe. Thanks to the incentives currently in force, last year the share of electrified in Italy rose to 4.3% of which 2% plug-in and 2.3% electric.
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