Carmakers Convinced Batteries Alone Won't Meet Green Goals

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

The Geneva Auto Salon is a small show in a small city of a small country. The show is big because it is an annual confab of automakers where shoulders are rubbed, mergers are planned, policies are set. The cars are mostly decoration. A top topic in Geneva was how to meet rigid EU emission limits. “There is a growing awareness that conventional hybrids and slow-selling battery cars simply won’t be enough,” Reuters reports from Geneva.

The interim goal of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer by 2015 does not appear to be a big deal. Most carmakers think they will meet it. “But drastic steps are needed to meet the 95 gram target set for 2020 and the potential for tougher standards after that,” Reuter says.

“We can’t get the necessary gains we need with traditional technology any more. We’re seeing a real break with the past,” Peugeot innovation chief Jean-Marc Finot told Reuters.

While GM’s Dan Akerson made bold battery announcements, there is growing conviction everywhere else that battery electric vehicles won’t be the answer. “Battery technology has not been able to resolve the century-old problem of too much weight and limited range capability,” Arthur Wheaton, automotive expert at Cornell University, told Reuters.

This view reaches the staunchest battery supporters. Said Francois Bancon, Nissan’s upstream development chief:

“Demand for electric cars isn’t where we thought it would be. We’re in a very uncertain phase, and everyone’s a bit lost.”

To meet the fleet goal, cars must do more than output little CO2. They also must be bought. Green cars that just sit in the show room don’t help the environment. High-priced batter-electric vehicles collide with this simple fact. “There’s more and more regulation, but customers want to pay less and less,” Nissan’s Bancon said. “So we have to cut prices and increase technology content – that’s the headache we’re faced with.”

One company does not seem to be worried about the 95 gram limit, and that is Volkswagen. A day before the show started, VW announced that it is “committing to reducing the CO2 output of the European new car fleet to 95 grams per kilometer by 2020.” Volkswagen also wants to reduce “the CO2 output of its European new vehicle fleet to less than 120 grams per kilometer by 2015. Volkswagen intends to outperform by more than 12 grams the figure required by law for its vehicle fleet.”

Note: While Europe sets CO2 targets, while the U.S. has ostensibly different mileage targets, when all is said and done, both more or less want the same. Use less fuel, generate less CO2. There even is a handy conversion formula. Except that the formula is not EPA compliant …

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Hummer Hummer on Mar 11, 2013

    Well we're approaching times when decisions must be made will the world sheep out and follow everything the eu says or will people stand up and say enough is enough, elitists making billions by lobbying for money has to stop, support for the idea of man made GW is at an all time low because the evidence doesn't add up. It doesn't take brains to see all of these people say one thing and do something else many times before you question their motives. All that electric cars do for the majority of us is the "cool" factor.

    • See 14 previous
    • Corntrollio Corntrollio on Mar 12, 2013

      @highdesertcat Cash for Clunkers cash never counted as federal income, and as far as I know it never counted as state income -- no idea where you get this stuff, other than making it up. Cash for Clunkers was a federal program. It's not the same as Oprah gifting cars to people. Those situations are not at all comparable. If you want to be enlightened, read my previous post above which explained this.

  • E46M3_333 E46M3_333 on Mar 11, 2013

    Instead of mucking around with everyone's ride, why not just outlaw pets? After all, the carbon footprint of a dog is greater than that of an SUV. It's interesting to watch the EU regulate itself back to third world status. The environmentalists won't stop until we're all commuting to work on bikes made out of recycled cardboard.

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    • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Mar 11, 2013

      @E46M3_333 I hate to tell you this but the US is bogged down with different regulations and controls, probably worse than the Europeans. You have 50 individual states all independent. You have Federal, State, County, Township rules and regulations and taxes. From 50 states and countless counties and townships. Must be a nightmare to live with that and be efficient. Your economy is improving, but don't forget as a nation your tax as a product of GDP is about 28%. Government spending as a product of GDP is near on 40%. Sustainable?

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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