Gerrit Marx thinks push to e-fuels and EVs will “flip Europe into Cuba,” its roads dominated by previous automobiles
by Chris Chilton
March 29, 2023 at 06:50
by Chris Chilton
Wealthy petrolheads and supercar firms may be rejoicing on the information that an exemption for e-fuels has given the combustion engine a keep of execution in Europe after 2035, however not everyone seems to be cheering.
And it’s not simply local weather activists who’re lower than enthusiastic concerning the information. So is Gerrit Marx, CEO of Iveco, the multinational firm answerable for placing hundreds of combustion-engined heavy industrial vans on the world’s roads every year.
Marx known as artificial fuels “the champagne of propulsion” in an interview with Bloomberg, and mentioned that whereas they may seem to wealthy Porsche and Ferrari drivers, the excessive price of filling up means they aren’t a practical approach for Europe’s automobile producers to achieve carbon neutrality.
“When you have a Ferrari or if you happen to drive your Porsche Turbo as soon as a weekend, you’re not going to care whether or not a liter prices €5 ($5.40) or €8 ($8.70), however that’s not a gas for the longer term,” the German boss advised reporters at Iveco’s HQ in Italy.
Associated: E-Fuels May Value Customers 50% Extra Than Fossil Fuels, Nonetheless Pollute
Marx, who has additionally made clear he’s not a fan of powerful new Euro 7 emissions laws because of come into pressure within the subsequent couple of years, described the governance coming from the European Union’s political base in Brussels as “dysfunctional,” claiming that there was a necessity for higher coordination between businesses within the EU bloc tasked with managing know-how, emissions and transportation points.
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The exec warned {that a} push in the direction of costly electrical automobiles and equally costly e-fuels received’t end in a mass change away from present combustion automobiles because the EU hopes, however might have the other impact, forcing drivers and fleet operators to hold on to older, extra polluting automobiles and vans. “We are going to flip Europe into Cuba, the place you see previous automobiles on the roads,” Marx mentioned, as a result of common folks received’t have the ability to afford the brand new alternate options.
The Iveco boss additionally says {that a} change to e-fuels received’t assist wean the world off fossil fuels provided from the Center East. “Guess who needs to turn out to be the primary e-fuel maker — Saudi Arabia,” he advised Bloomberg. “We’re simply changing one supply with the opposite, however from the identical area.”