As one of the leaders in European motoring, Germany will play a key role in the emergence of electric cars as an alternative technology and now it has set its own target for bringing the vehicles to the nation’s roads.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ministers are finalising plans that will provide financial incentives from 2012 to support the production and sale of 100,000 electric cars annually with the target set to bring one million electric cars to German roads by 2020.
According to a Press release, around €500million has been earmarked for research and development with specifics on the finances to be discussed by the cabinet in the next legislature period.
German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said the technology for safe electric cars will not be in place until 2011. In an interview with the ARD news programme, he stated that batteries will have to become smaller and safer and that the range of the cars must be increased.
If the targets are fulfilled, the 100,000 electric vehicles a year would represent about three per cent of new vehicle sales.
