Germany’s successful bid to redraft the European Union’s 2035 ICE ban exempt cars running on synthetic e-fuels can be linked back to Porsche’s iconic sports car. How strong is that link?
Let’s examine the evidence. Germany’s push to reopen what was considered an airtight agreement to ban the sale of all new ICE cars by 2035 was driven by the head of the FDP ruling coalition party, Christian Lindner, who is also Germany’s finance minister.
Lindner, the owner of a classic Porsche 911 SC, was reportedly in contact with Porsche CEO (and now also Volkswagen Group CEO) Oliver Blume last year via texts and phone calls in a bid to put e-fuels at the heart of government agenda, according to the German media.
The Die Anstall satirical TV show last July reported Blume as telling an internal company meeting that: “We have played a large role in having e-fuels included in the coalition agreement”.