Car buyers are considering whether they should switch to e-mobility or give preference to a diesel or gasoline engine. And then the Federal Ministry of Economics goes public with the message that electricity for the charging stations may have to be rationed in order to avoid widespread blackouts.

Volkswagen reports a tripling of sales of electrified cars in 2020 compared to the previous year. This is undoubtedly a success that many e-skeptics would not have thought possible. The power with which VW marketing has achieved these numbers can also become a problem in the long run.  Read full article ... (528 words)

Automobilclub Mobil in Deutschland eV sees the end of the internal combustion engine and dramatic consequences for the automotive industry in view of the Euro 7 norm looming on the horizon, which is to come into force in 2025.

The planned Euro 7 standard provides for clearly strict emission standards for motor vehicles from 2025: New vehicles will then only emit 30 mg NOx (nitrogen oxide) per kilometer and, in a second scenario, only 10 mg per kilometer. The current limit is 60 mg for gasoline and 80 mg for diesel vehicles. In addition, the CO2 limit values ​​are to be drastically reduced to 300 or 100 mg, depending on the vehicle category. In addition, significant tightening of the measurement conditions during the Real Drive Emissions Test (RDE) to comply with limit values ​​should come into force. All exceptions previously permitted in the RDE are to be removed, i.e. tests contrary to the real everyday use of most cars in extreme situations (extremely low temperatures, driving at full throttle, driving at high altitudes or towing a trailer).  Read full article ... (391 words)

When Audi boss Markus Duesmann questions the hydrogen fuel cell in cars, then this statement is just as driven by corporate interests as the plea of ​​the ex-BMW development chief and Linde supervisory board chairman Wolfgang Reitzles for the hydrogen fuel cell. Technological openness is the only right way, because it leaves the decision to physical reality and the market, not to political-ideological competition.

The new Audi boss Markus Duesmann is responsible for the consistent VW group strategy for electric mobility with batteries, the other, as the ex-Linde boss, stands for the conviction that hydrogen is the fuel of the future. However, Reitzle saw it that way as head of development at BMW. And ultimately everyone agrees that the long-term solution - we're talking about 50 years here - is called electromobility. After all, the fuel cell with hydrogen also means that the vehicle is powered by an electric motor. However, there are also developments to use hydrogen in the internal combustion engine, as BMW had already successfully developed in a 12-cylinder 7 Series for series production. In addition, there are other options such as gas or synthetic fuels to the right and left of the drive technology roadmap.  Read full article ... (641 words)

2020 will be the end of a disastrous year in some ways; however, light is visible on the horizon for 2021. We asked some augurs of the automotive industry about the past year and the important topics of the future. Today: Gert Hildebrand. The star designer was involved in the design of the Opel Kadett E and VW Golf III, among other things, before he advanced to the position of chief mini designer and finally was responsible for the global design and branding of the Chinese brand Qoros. Most recently he worked for the Chinese EV manufacturer Bordrin.  Read full article ... (724 words, 1 image)

For us, the Ulm entrepreneur Ernst Probst is one of the absolute top entrepreneurs who combine economic success with social responsibility. Whether it is Formula 1 presence or support for meals on wheels and care services: Liqui Moly is a Swabian company that has a positive effect far beyond the region.

The balance sheet reads like a miracle at this time: After a record November for the German engine oil and additive producer, the Christmas month follows with another record and an incredible 38 percent increase in sales compared to the same period of the previous year.  Read full article ... (644 words)

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has spoken - and commented on switching devices in diesel engines. But little new came of it. Professor Thomas Koch from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) explains the facts. It becomes clear: the judgment is not suitable for a renewed campaign against the diesel engine.

Professor Koch, the ECJ has just passed a judgment on the subject of diesel exhaust. Does this now affect all diesel vehicles?  Read full article ... (416 words)

What matters is what comes out at the back, a German Chancellor is said to have once said. It couldn't be formulated more appropriately for the Toyota Mirai. It is the purest water that the Mirai escapes from its exhaust pipe. No harmful nitrogen oxides, neither soot nor other pollutants. If anything, the wet element in the form of water vapor is the Japanese’s only waste product.

Toyota has been loyal to hydrogen technology since 2015. As long as Hyundai. Otherwise it looks pretty poor. Although Mercedes dared to venture with the GLC F-Cell, it was thrown out of the program in the spring. Incidentally, you will look in vain for other German carmakers, only Honda still has a production model up its sleeve. The Japanese just lacked the courage to establish their Clarity with us. It is only available in isolated quantities in North America and Japan.  Read full article ... (1080 words, 3 images)

The latest edition of the VW Tiguan makes it clear that the wrongly criticized SUVs represent (can) apply responsibility. More efficient engines, plug-in hybrids and nitrogen oxide-optimized diesels turn the world's most successful Volkswagen into a sustainable automobile, which is the best-selling SUV in Europe and 911.000 times were built in the last year alone.

During our test drive, we opted for the Tiguan that, with all common sense, guarantees top driving dynamics in the segment as the flagship of the SUV series: the Tiguan R performance model with 320 hp and exclusive equipment. When a car, especially an SUV, accelerates from a standstill to 4,9 km / h in 100 seconds with Launch Control and can go up to 250 km / h, the "R" is in the name and the  Read full article ... (948 words, 3 images)

The consistency of Volkswagen in the direction of electromobility is impressive. With the exit from fossil-fueled motorsport, CEO Herbert Diess is setting another example on the road to e-mobility that has been declared the ultimate ratio. Know-how from the electricalMotorsport will flow into the development of the ID. Family one. If it weren't for inconsistency as well.

But seriously: How else should such a shift be achieved, i.e. financed, if the money to pay for the change of direction does not have to be earned with gasoline and diesel engines. "It is not easy to advertise our top combustion engines and on the other hand to communicate that combustion engines are actually a thing of the past," says a marketing expert, making the balancing act in communication clear. "And if it then turns out that the E-Weg has not become a mass-market success, then good night ..."  Read full article ... (338 words)

Is the combustion engine threatened with extinction? This is how one could interpret the latest proposals of the pan-European “Advisory Board on Vehicle Emission Vehicles Standards” (AGVES). What was hatched there has the potential to explode in terms of industrial policy. In an interview, Professor Thomas Koch from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) warns that realism should prevail when it comes to the specifications - also in order not to harm the European idea.

Interview by Jens Meiners with Thomas Koch.

Professor Koch, how do you classify the expert panel's suggestions on the EU-7 standard?  Read full article ... (1344 words)

It's hard to believe, but the glamor boy of the global electric car scene actually spoke up a notch. Elon Musk, the head of Tesla, recently admitted frankly that it wasn't long ago that Tesla almost went bankrupt. Musk revealed on Twitter that it was pretty close. Here is the original tweet from November 3rd:

 Read full article ... (692 words, 1 image)

VDA President Hildegard Müller takes the initiative that Angela Merkel and the federal government should have taken long ago. E-mobility dream dancer Angela Merkel has long since had to say goodbye to her illusory dream of having a million battery-electric cars on German roads in 2020, but not done much to create the most important framework for this: a charging infrastructure build up. The EU Commission's plan to practically ban combustion engines through technically impractical specifications has been severely criticized by the VDA.

Hildegard Müller now rushes to help the high-flying electrophantasies on their feet. “I would therefore like to have a charging station summit with everyone involved, with the energy industry, the housing industry, the mineral oil industry, with the airports, parking garage and petrol station operators, of course with the federal government, states and municipalities, and that before Christmas.” VDA President sent a signal for next week's "car summit" and the government is under pressure to support this initiative.  Read full article ... (798 words)

SUVs with an E in their license plate appear more and more often. What can be understood as an indication of an electric vehicle does not mean that it is driven without a combustion engine. Plug-in hybrids are gaining ground because many customers would like to switch to electromobility, but do not want to forego an actually unlimited range. The internal combustion engine on board makes the panic search for a charging station obsolete. The Kia XCeed Plug-in Hybrid fully meets the automotive zeitgeist.

   Read full article ... (751 words, 3 images)

Mobil in Deutschland eV in an interview with Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Sinn:

Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Sinn is one of the best-known economic researchers in Germany and was President of the renowned Ifo Institute for many years. Dr. Michael Haberland, President of the Automobilclub Mobil in Deutschland eV, recently met the German “luminary in economics” in Munich and asked current questions about cars, mobility and politics:

Dr. Michael Haberland: What was your first car?  Read full article ... (719 words)

Customer communication with printed magazines has been a highly volatile instrument for German car manufacturers for years. When a crisis is announced, budgets are cut or magazines are completely discontinued. Sometimes they are only offered online in digital form. However, market research repeatedly confirms that printed instruments are important for customer loyalty.

As the well-known industry information service LOUT is now reporting, BMW seems to be thinking about a new print magazine. See also https://lout.plus/Experten/BMW-Magazin-alleine-stemmen-oder-bleiben-lassen.html  Read full article ... (765 words, 1 image)

When auto motor und sport calls for the selection of the best design innovations every year, one thing is certain: the readers decide. Not an expert jury, but those who buy cars and say what they like best.

No fewer than five Audi models were awarded this year, while BMW was voted “Best Design Brand of the Year”, a prize to which Mercedes-Benz had previously subscribed and this time it was awarded for “best interior design”. In total, there were more than 100 new models from various manufacturers to choose from. Around 16.000 participants cast their votes in the readers' poll.  Read full article ... (425 words, 3 images)