Bavaria warns of "Cuban conditions" on German roads

The Bavarian state government has criticized the decision of the European Parliament to end the combustion engine, some in drastic terms. Among other things, she warns of “Cuban conditions” on the streets. "The drivers will not all be forced into electric cars," said Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) on Wednesday in Munich. “You will find that most of them will hold on to used internal combustion engine cars for as long as possible. From 2035, the cars on our roads will start to look like they do in Cuba.”

The EU Parliament approved new CO₂ specifications on Tuesday, according to which only new cars that do not emit any greenhouse gases during operation may be sold in the EU from 2035. The Member States still have to agree to the plans, but this is considered a formality, like Parliament's approval.

"The EU's general combustion engine ban from 2035 will damage Bavaria as an industrial location and the employees of the automotive industry," wrote Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) on Twitter. "Reducing fossil fuels is correct, but in addition to electromobility, e-fuels and hydrogen also offer great potential for climate-neutral mobility."

CSU General Secretary Martin Huber had already criticized on Tuesday that the "left-ideological" ban on combustion engines restricted the freedom of millions of EU citizens.

Bavaria's Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) said on Wednesday: "The ban on combustion engines from 2035 is in fact not intended to decarbonize traffic. The ideologues are concerned with getting rid of the car and preventing individual mobility.” Aiwanger criticized: “There is no other way to explain that clean internal combustion engines of the future, which are powered by biofuel or synfuels, should be put an end to and hydrogen in the Mobility is being blocked by the Greens in the federal government.” However, the pure electric car will not be enough to keep the more than 40 million cars in Germany going, he warned.