Hyperdrive

German Coalition Proposes a Combustion-Car Ban Without Saying So

  • New government seeks 15 million pure EVs in Germany by 2030
  • Reaching goal would require halting ICE auto sales sooner
Photographer: Peter Juelich/Bloomberg
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Germany is facing a ban of combustion-vehicle sales before the end of the decade -- that’s if the home of Volkswagen AG is serious about hitting the new government’s targets on battery-powered cars and climate protection.

The incoming coalition of pro-business Free Democrats, center-left Social Democrats and environmental Greens plans to have at least 15 million fully electric vehicles on Germany’s roads by the end of the decade. Reaching such a goal, also vital to meeting Germany’s international commitments on slashing greenhouse gases, would require ending sales of combustion-engine cars in just a few years.