The EU Parliament’s vote to ban the sale of cars with combustion engines from 2035 onwards exposes another conflict in the traffic light coalition after tax policy. From the point of view of the FDP, the federal government in the Council of Ministers must not approve the end of combustion engines without inserting an opening clause. This should continue to enable the sale of combustion engines if they use climate-neutral synthetic fuels. The Greens and SPD have so far rejected such openness to another technological path to climate protection in transport.
Anyone who thinks that the auto industry is clearly siding with the liberals is wrong. Mercedes and VW, for example, are quite satisfied with the planned tough European requirement. Unfortunately, the satisfaction is not only explained by the trust in one’s own entrepreneurial strength and innovations, but also by the squinting at subsidies. The calculus: The tougher the requirements, the more blackmailed the politicians become – be it in terms of financing the charging infrastructure or subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, which are expected to be expensive for a long time to come. As a market economist, one can see the close ties to the state with concern. Climate protection does not justify the abandonment of competition policy principles. Rather, it is about using them to efficiently achieve climate targets.