The German automotive industry is strongly committed to pressing ahead with the development of electric mobility because climate protection, a growing scarcity of fossil fuels and an increased need for mobility due to rising population figures require new solutions and alternative propulsion systems. Electric vehicles can make a significant contribution to protecting the environment and avoiding emissions. Therefore, electric vehicles are a crucial component of the multipronged strategy of the German manufacturers and suppliers.

Through the recent leap in battery technology electric mobility became an option for mobility in the future. The engineers have concentrated on using the existing advantages of electric engines over internal combustion engines. That is for example the high level of efficiency of electric engines. While internal combustion engines only use up to 50 percent of the fuels energy, an electric engine can harness between 80 to almost up to 100 percent of the available energy. Hence, the electric engine can cover longer distances with the same amount of energy and at the same time requiring low-maintenance. The Clutch and gearbox are obsolete plus the engine has fewer components, which is facilitating the maintenance substantially

The electrification of vehicles of the future is becoming more important and fosters the development of the total system of electric mobility. This system connects electric vehicles – ranging from plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and range-extender vehicles (REEV) to battery-electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell vehicles (FCEV) – with the power system and the traffic system, thus enhancing future mobility and additionally the power system.

VDA Initiative: Coordination Office of the Electric Mobility Industry Commitee

The Coordination Office of the Electric Mobility Industry Commitee represents the interests of the automotive industry in various committees and political decision making processes and is committed to support a climate-friendly mobility.

Political and technical questions and issues are discussed by the Electric Mobility Working Group and the Energy Storage Working Group and collective approaches are developed.

In cooperation with other associations, it organizes and coordinates events to document the achievements of the automotive industry and its partners in the field of electric mobility and is always in dialogue with politics and business.

Electric Mobility in Germany

24%

Increase in new registrations for EV's in 2018 in comparison to 2017

Germany wants to be the lead supplier and lead market for electric mobility.

Electric vehicles fill a gap in the market. Step by step, a younger as yet small but dynamically growing market is beginning to form. In no other country does the customer have such a large selection of different types of electric vehicles across the board. More than 57 electric models from German manufacturers are currently available on the market, including the foreign manufacturers there are more than 100 available models.

The graph shows the cumulated new registrations of electric vehicles in Germany. It is colour coded according to the type of electrification of the power transmission. The cumulated new registrations reached 285.000 electric vehicles on the 31st of October, 55% of which are Battery Electric Vehicles.

Cumulated new registrations from January 2010 to End of October 2019. Source: KBA, own calculations

The number of registered electric vehicles reached apprixmately 220.000 on the 1. of November 2019. Thus, approximately 75 percent of all registered EV’s are still in use.

The environmental subsidy which has come into force with retroactive effect from May 18, 2016 is increasingly stimulating the market. Especially BEV’s are benefitting from the subsidy.

Additionally there is an extensive range of support measures from federal states, individual cities and municipalities and private organisations to facilitate the transition to an electric vehicle.

Charging Infrastructure

20,650 Charging Points

Source: BDEW

As of July 2019

The expansion of the charging infrastructure is an important part of the electric mobility. From the customer's point of view, the attractiveness of electric vehicles depends on the simplicity of their use - so charging the battery is a crucial factor.

It is not entirely about the number and distribution of the charging stations, but also the user-friendliness. Decisive factors are unhindered access, a uniform, simple payment system and the charging time. The charging time and the position of the charging station depend on the different application scenarios:

The charging at home, at the workplace, at the destination, each with a short or long dwelling time, as well as the fast charging on the road on longer routes.

As the figure shows, charging at work or at home is the most common. In order to ensure charging in the private installation locations (85%), electric mobility has to be integrated into construction, homeownership and tenancy law.

Charging Infrastructure

With the entry into force of the charging station regulation on March 17th 2016, the Combined Charging System (CCS) became the standard for all charging stations in public areas. In advance, some car manufacturers have stated that they will produce all models with CSS in the future. The combined charging system ensures charging on normal charging stations with alternating current (AC charging stations) as well as fast charging with direct current (DC charging stations). This allows all application scenarios to be covered.

The Charging Infrastructure in Germany

The acceptance of Electric Mobility and thus the support of the further market ramp-up must be accompanied by a needs-based and accessible charging infrastructure as well as a positive customer experience during the charging process.

In addition to financial support, further measures and regulations and their implementation are needed to promote the development of charging infrastructure in public and private areas. For that purpose, the VDA has formulated the requirements and recommendations for a customer-friendly charging infrastructure in a paper.

According to the BDEW survey from August 2019, there are now 20,650 public and partially public charging points - including 12 percent fast-charging points. Statistically, about 10 vehicles share a charging point.

In addition to charging stations in public areas, the BDEW survey also included charging stations on publicly accessible private grounds (multi-storey car parks, supermarket parking lots, etc.) .

The charging stations are recorded in the charging station register provided by the BDEW.

Position on Charging Infrastructure

Without electric mobility, the ambitious goal of sustainable mobility by electrifying the vehicles, as required by European legislation, cannot be reached. The expansion of charging infrastructure is the most important prerequisite for a successful market ramp-up of e-mobility

Overall, different financial measures and regulatory regulations are required, as charging processes take place at different locations.

The VDA has therefore drawn up a position paper together with the member companies, because only consistent action by all stakeholders can turn Germany into a lead market for e-mobility.

Power Grid Integration

The development of electric vehicles has made considerable progress in recent years.

The increasing share of electric vehicles should be accompanied by their intelligent grid integration. In addition to the vehicles, the "smart grid" also has to have other flexible terminals in a customer system, such as e.g. battery buffer or heat pumps. In the document below, the VDA has described an architecture for future network integration with a uniform method that is scalable and future-proof.

Additionally this makes the theoretical effects in simulations on electricity grids more concrete. In order to master local load peaks, charge management systems will be deployed, which help to avoid the need for a massive network expansion.

Part of these charging management systems is the principle of Reverse Power Transfer. Basically, this function is considered useful and technically feasible, but requires further evaluation and concretization within the framework of national regulations.

Market shares of German corporate brands – Electric passenger cars vs. total passenger cars

Market shares of German corporate brands – Electric passenger cars vs. total passenger cars

The market share of German manufacturers in the major electric car markets such as the USA, Canada, South Korea and Japan is slightly higher than of passenger cars overall. In many markets the German market shares of elecric vehicles have recently fallen.

In China, electric cars of German manufacturers are poorly represented with 7 percent market share; 90 percent of the market is dominated by domestic brands due to state regulations.

Electric Commercial Vehicles

9 electric models

offered by German automobile manufacturers

The manufacturers, together with the suppliers, are expediting the electrification of their models in order to drastically reduce noise and air pollutant emissions.

Public passenger- and global freight transport is facing a profound change.

Logistics - especially in urban areas - will change dramatically in the coming years. Sustainability and environmental protection have a high priority for the commercial vehicle industry.

This will reduce the importance of conventional internal combustion engines. The future CO2 targets can only be met if the share of low-emission or emission-free vans, buses and trucks continues to increase.

Electric mobility in commercial vehicles offers enormous potential, also with regard to new logistics concepts on the "last mile". For example, quiet and locally emission-free commercial vehicles could enable the supply and disposal of our inner cities even at night or at least at off-peak hours in order to relieve the rush hours.

The Future is Electric!

The German automotive industry is working intensively on electrifying their fleets.

For this purpose, a roadmap for the transition of the drive types was developed. This includes electric commercial vehicles for the use in long-haul traffic in the near future.

With great commitment and together with the suppliers the German manufacturers are working towards a needs-based charging infrastructure.

Charging Infrastructure for Commercial Vehicles

The conditions to transition to an electric vehicle in the commercial context are often better than for private users, as the necessary charging infrastructure can be installed relatively easily at the depots.

Nevertheless, the creation of a framework for a needs-based and intelligent DC charging infrastructure is the decisive basis for the commercial electric mobility movement. Because in both, public areas and private areas, solutions for the charging of electric fleets of CEP companies, logistics-, municipal- and craft enterprises are needed. These include so-called strategic charging points, which secure the reach in the entire urban area.

In addition to corresponding funding programs, a supporting framework is needed to establish a comprehensive charging infrastructure. For this purpose the automotive industry has developed recommendations.

Fleet Conversion

The conversion of an existing fleet to electric commercial vehicles and buses creates a challenge for the fleet management, the construction of the charging infrastructure, operational planning and much more. Therefore, manufacturers and the federal government offer support in planning and implementing the transition to vehicles with alternative drives.

Switching to new powertrain and fleet solutions raises many new questions that go far beyond the actual vehicle. The process therefore begins with a comprehensive situation and requirements analysis, as the solution must fit the purpose, depending on the focus, range and payload. From vehicle deployment and route optimization to optimal charging strategy and energy supply, a tailor-made concept has to be developed.