The road ahead is green

The issue of electromobility is attracting more and more interest. For some time now, the automotive industry has not been alone in feeling the heat of this electrifying trend: driven by a growing awareness of environmental issues among the population at large, the move to alternative energy sources and the business opportunities offered by alternative types of drive systems, society, politics and industry are now all toeing the green line. But not all aspects of the new technology have been clarified yet. 

Munich, 18-10-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — For a long time, electric cars were considered to be an exotic species among the various means of transport and were dismissed as being too unsafe, too expensive and too awkward for drivers to handle. In the past, hardly anyone gave a thought to actually buying one. Times have certainly changed. Electric cars have now even made it on to the political agenda: the EU has called for a drastic reduction in the average CO2 emissions produced by new cars by 2020, while the German government wants to use road tax exemptions to compensate for the higher costs of purchasing an alternative drive vehicle.

More and more drivers also believe that such moves are badly needed, as any visit to the gas pump only serves to remind them. With fuel prices continuing to climb and the knowledge that our oil and gas resources are not infinite, many believe that cutting ties with our reliance on oil is long overdue. Vehicles with electric drive systems support this turnaround; they are more efficient than their combustion engine counterparts. This means that they can push for the necessary technology leap early on, instead of waiting until our oil has already run out. Then, there is the need to drastically reduce global CO2 emissions which is now a legal requirement due to the EU’s provisions, one that is met by these emission-free vehicles driven solely by electrical power. Because electric cars take significant strain off our environment, especially if they use renewable energy, they already meet the main demands facing tomorrow’s automotive industry.

Despite the advantages and the fact that the way has been paved for a move towards electromobility, only 48,000 hybrid vehicles and a mere 4,500 electric cars were registered for use onGermany’s roads in January 2012. The technical requirements would appear to be the main obstacle hindering the rise of these environmentally friendly vehicles. New technology, such as lightweight vehicle construction and integrated high voltage facilities, ring alarm bells for many drivers who are concerned about safety. But fears of an increased risk of explosion in electric vehicles are unfounded. The risk is, in fact, no higher than for conventional gasoline-powered cars. There is no need to fear electric shocks either, because the high voltage system is automatically switched off in the event of an accident.

Cyclists and pedestrians, on the other hand, are concerned about the lack of noise produced by the vehicles. After all, it is not only the blind who are used to tuning into engine sounds as a means of orientation and alerting themselves to potential risks. Electric cars, however, can only be heard if they are traveling at around 25 km/h or more. The speeds traveled at in city traffic are often lower. In order to ensure the safety of all road users, manufacturers are currently working on incorporating systems to produce synthetic sounds into the vehicle.

The performance of the electric models is another issue. The very limited battery storage and long charging times could make longer journeys difficult due to the lack of battery charging infrastructure. This means that the group of potential users is still limited at the moment, and makes electromobility an interesting option primarily for people in towns and cities who only travel 50 to 80 km a day.

Electric cars do not only offer numerous ecological and economic opportunities; they also bring challenges along with them. Nevertheless, they are helping to herald in a new, green mobility culture, the future of which is eagerly awaited.

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The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertain-ties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. In addition to statements which are forward-looking by reason of context, the words “may”, “will”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential”, or “continue” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation, (i) general economic conditions, including in particular economic conditions in the Allianz Groupfs core business and core markets, (ii) performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, and including market volatility, liquidity and credit events (iii) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, including from natural catastrophes and including the development of loss expenses, (iv) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi) the extent of credit defaults, (vii) interest rate levels, (viii) currency exchange rates including the Euro/U.S. Dollar exchange rate, (ix) changing levels of competition, (x) changes in laws and regulations, including monetary convergence and the European Monetary Union, (xi) changes in the policies of central banks and/or foreign governments, (xii) the impact of acquisitions, including related integration issues, (xiii) reorganization measures, and (xiv) general competitive factors, in each case on a local, regional, national and/or global basis. Many of these factors may be more likely to occur, or more pronounced, as a result of terrorist activities and their consequences. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

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Katerina Piro
Allianz SE
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Allianz Deutschland AG
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Not a parking meter: Fast-charging stations on the street are still a rare sight.