German highways are in for a makeover, as German chancellor Angela Merkel has set a very ambitious target of 1 million electric vehicles on the German roads by 2020.
Last week during an international forum in Berlin, the chancellor expressed her visions about the future development of the electric car industry and stated that the target can be met, although currently there are only 7,000 registered electric vehicles on the German roads.
The German government has already invested 1.5 billion euros in research and innovations in electric mobility. There are two main conditions, which have to be fulfilled if the targets are to be met- firstly, to integrate renewable energy sources in battery charging, and secondly, to improve the relatively poor charging stations network.
The statistics are quite promising. For the first four months of the year, the newly registered electric vehicles in the country have exceeded 1,500, which is already half of the total registrations in 2012.
Although there is quite a number of sceptics about the 2020 target, many believe that if the prices fall, the 1 million goal is achievable.
By the end of 2014, the major car manufacturers will be ready to showcase 15 new electric car models, which should be introduced to the market by 2017. Moreover, there will be an increase in investments going towards development of alternative fuel engines.
If the target is to be reached, the government should focus on investing in more charging stations and improvements of the road infrastructure. In addition to this, incentives for electric car owners should be introduced, as it is the case in France where there is a bonus for purchasing an electric vehicle.
There is no doubt that the process of switching to electric cars would be gradual, but for country like Germany, such target is very likely to be achieved.
