- Volkswagen thinks EVs will naturally substitute ICE vehicles.
- The transition ought to be inspired reasonably than pressured.
- VW sees gasoline vehicles following the trail of horses.
Just a little over a fifth of all new vehicles offered in Europe to date this 12 months are totally electrical. In response to knowledge printed by the European Vehicle Producers’ Affiliation (ACEA), EVs accounted for 20.9 % of latest registrations within the first 4 months of 2026. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless an extended option to go earlier than everyone seems to be satisfied to make the swap.
In response to Volkswagen, discussions about whether or not gross sales of latest combustion-engine vehicles ought to be banned miss the larger level. Martin Sander, Member of the Government Board for Gross sales, Advertising, and After Gross sales, informed Auto Express that the main focus ought to be on why EVs are merely higher vehicles total, reasonably than lamenting the continued existence of gasoline and diesel engines.
VW’s considering is that when extra folks notice electrical autos are superior, there shall be a pure transition from ICE to EV. Sander drew parallels with the early days of the automotive trade, when vehicles step by step started to exchange horses as folks acknowledged they had been a greater technique of transportation. He believes the identical will finally occur with combustion-engine autos, with or with no ban, as EVs steadily take their place:
Picture by: Volkswagen
VW Expects Fuel Automobiles To Observe Horses Into Historical past
‘By some means, over time, an increasing number of folks realized that for truly getting from A to B, a automobile is significantly better than a horse. [Today] I look out of the window: not many horses – it’s predominantly vehicles. That is why I hate the dialogue in regards to the ICE ban. Everyone seems to be simply speaking in regards to the ICE ban.
How do you persuade clients a few new expertise for those who’re solely speaking about when there shall be a date if you end up not allowed to make use of these autos – autos you’ve got used to over the past a long time – anymore?’
Sander was referring to the European Union’s preliminary plan to ban gross sales of latest combustion-engine vehicles from 2035. Dealing with strain from the automotive trade, the EU has since softened its stance. Though new ICE vehicles will proceed to be offered past the center of the following decade, solely a handful of fashions are more likely to survive.
The EU desires automakers to slash fleet CO2 emissions by 90 % by 2035 in contrast with 2021 ranges, successfully leaving solely a slender path ahead for combustion-engine autos. VW believes the main focus ought to shift from mandating EVs to explaining their benefits whereas additionally enhancing charging infrastructure and decreasing vitality prices. Sander argues that by doing so, shoppers will naturally gravitate towards electrical vehicles reasonably than being pushed by rules.
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Supply: Volkswagen
Motor1’s Take: VW has a degree as a result of, let’s face it, nobody likes being pressured to do one thing. Having freedom of alternative is at all times preferable, and the German automaker argues that selling the advantages of EVs will speed up adoption and gas-powered vehicles will finally attain their pure finish.
On the identical time, it’s unrealistic to anticipate automakers to desert combustion engines in a single day. At this time’s ICE gross sales fund the event of tomorrow’s EVs, and for now, one nonetheless largely is dependent upon the opposite. Revenue margins on electrical autos stay slim or nonexistent for a lot of conventional automakers, so conventionally powered vehicles usually are not disappearing anytime quickly.
