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Title: BMW Says Europe's Gas Engine Ban 'Can Kill an Industry'

Link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/09/10/2102...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motor1: BMW watched from the
sidelines as Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo, and others announced lofty EV
goals a few years ago, only to backtrack in recent months. Munich never vowed
to go fully electric within a set timeframe, instead preferring to give
customers the freedom of choice. It projects demand will be evenly split
between gas and electric cars by 2030, but Bavaria hasn't committed to a
combustion-free future. The company maintains its desire to give people what
they want rather than artificially restricting powertrains to EVs, as the
European Union plans for 2035. In an interview with Australian magazine
CarExpert, Chief Technology Officer Joachim Post argued it should ultimately
come down to buyers, not the EU: "Finally, the customer decides." Provided
the ban takes effect in a little over nine years, the board member fears it
could have massive repercussions: "If the European Commission is going to say
they have a plan to cut the combustion engine in 2035, they're not asking the
customers and how [EV charging] infrastructure is coming up, how the energy
prices are and all the things there. It's stupid to do that in that way. And
you can kill an industry doing it that way." His concerns are echoed by
Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius, who recently warned the European car industry is
"heading at full speed against a wall" and could even "collapse" if the EU
doesn't reconsider. The statement came shortly after Stuttgart's boss
admitted the company had to make a "course correction" to keep combustion
engines longer than initially planned. Mercedes continues to invest in
conventional powertrains, and there's even a completely new V-8 from AMG on
the way. The report notes that BMW continues to generate strong profits from
its combustion engines, ranging from three-, four-, six-, and eight-cyclinder
engines to a Rolls-Royce V-12 -- even supplying rivals like Toyota and
possibly soon Mercedes. In fact, the "M" in BMW stands for "Motoren" (German
for "engine".

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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