Making the Case for Diesel Cars at the VDA’s Congress

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Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), has spoken out strongly against banning diesel passenger cars. At the VDA’s 19th Technical Congress in Berlin, Wissmann emphasised, “Anyone who wants to ban diesels is also blocking climate protection. Modern Euro 6 diesels are, together with electric mobility, the most important element for achieving the European climate protection targets. Their CO₂ emissions are up to 15 percent lower than those of comparable gasoline vehicles.”

Questionable driving bans

Banning newer diesel passenger cars would also be questionable social policy, according to Wissmann: “In Stuttgart, from 2018 onward, even Euro 5 diesel cars are to be prohibited from driving when there is a ‘particulate alarm’. These cars would then be just two and a half years old. Politicians should consider whether such a massive intervention in many people’s property and wealth would be proportionate.”

The VDA’s president pointed out that the German manufacturers and suppliers were working intensively on further improvements to diesel technology: “At the end of 2019, 80 percent of newly registered diesel passenger cars will already be equipped with SCR, the most advanced exhaust technology. At the beginning of the next decade, almost every newly registered diesel car will have it. This means that the issue of nitrogen oxide from new vehicles has been resolved.”

The combustion engine is not yet obsolescent

“Internal combustion engines will be with us for many years to come. But at the same time, we are investing heavily in electric mobility and digitisation”, Wissmann stressed, and added that both topics were focal points at the Technical Congress. For example, by the year 2020 the German automotive industry would spend around 40 billion euros on the further development of electric mobility. “By 2020 the German OEMs will have more than trebled the number of electric models they have on offer – from the current 30 models to nearly 100. This is a huge effort, because the billions spent on this must be earned from current business, that is, from the sale of cars with internal combustion engines. We cannot – as some people outside the industry suppose – simply ‘say farewell’ to one type of powertrain. This is not a nationalised industry that will always receive financial support despite continuous losses. It is responsible for many hundreds of thousands of employees”, emphasised the VDA’s president.

The automotive industry is a driver for digitisation

The Technical Congress was also focusing on connected and automated driving, Wissmann emphasized, and drew attention to the sector’s willingness to innovate: “Progress is our second name. We are driving digitisation. That applies in particular to the great megatrend of mobility: connected and automated driving”, adding that the German automotive industry holds 58 percent of all patents worldwide in the field of connected and automated driving, making Germany the reigning world champion in patents for connected and automated driving: “We want to stay in the lead. The German vehicle industry is therefore investing another 16 to 18 billion euros in technologies for digitisation during the next three to four years.”

Industry event with high-ranking attendees

The 19th Technical Congress took place in Berlin on the 5th and 6th of April 2017. It is one of Europe’s most important meetings in the automotive industry. Over 50 high-ranking representatives of the automotive industry have delivered presentations at the Technical Congress, including Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management at Daimler, Dr. Stefan Sommer, Chief Executive Officer of ZF, and Dr. Rolf Bulander, member of the Board of Management at Robert Bosch GmbH and Chairman of the Business Sector Mobility Solutions. Prof. Johanna Wanka, German Federal Minister of Education and Research, spoke on “Research for the car of tomorrow”.