4 ms·
European law has been very tilted towards Diesel engines for a long time. As the recent VW debacle proved - oversight was quite lax compared to the US diesel r
by InTheArena 9y ago
European law has been very tilted towards
Diesel engines for a long time. As the recent VW debacle proved - oversight was quite lax compared to the US diesel regs. This laxness was the result of the influence of BMW, Mercedes and VW and the outcome of years of corporate lobbying. It’s a good first step, but they have further to go.
Despite the rhetoric, Germany has also been very restrictive with Tesla, viewing it as a challenge to its crown jewel automotive companies (no credits, no additional supercharger stations, much harsher reading of laws to protect their own industries).
You know that Germany will be serious when that changes.... (or the German car companies will have finally caught up to Tesla’s battery power and power train)...
- jacquesm 9y agoA big part of the problem here is the the EU was focusing on CO2 rather than NOx and that diesels are actually really good in the CO2 department.
- IntronExon 9y agoVery true, but that’s partly because they believe NOx emissions were lower than they really were, thanks to cheating. I like to think that if they’d realized the magnitude of the non-CO2 issues, they would have taken a different path.
- fyfy18 9y agoFun fact: NOx emmisions actually help to counter global warming, as they break down methane particles, which is one of the worst greenhouse gases.
- woodpanel 9y agoSpeaking about "rhetoric": "Germany has also been very restrictive with Tesla" How exactly does not subsidizing a company amounts to being restrictive?
- Barrin92 9y agonot to mention that supercharger stations also would be beneficial to all German producers, because they too invest into electrical cars. VWs investment is about five times larger than Tesla's which isn't surprising given the size of the company.