Electrified future. Its not an option anymore to say it wont happen weve crossed the line its happening thats called the question isnt what type of engine is better or more environmentally friendly the car industry is in the throes of unprecedented change and germany risks being left behind the worlds biggest car market china is powering an electric vehicle revolution and building the cars it needs itself. Over the course of trying to preserve jobs come hell or high water and sectors where i can see that World Markets have already moved those sectors in a new direction its the worst mistake you can make. The world has made up its mind has germany the birthplace of the automobile a proud car culture. That could be the model we know how to build a Diesel Engine ours are probably the best in the world we can also build Combustion Engines the question is does the world still need them. Is germany prepared for the future. Were in berrigan this was once norways most polluted intersection dunlops plus the junction of 2 major transport routes now the citys biggest electric vehicle charging station is located here. Do you feel like a pioneer do you feel quite normal what normal is its more 3 birds that dont have to pay the full roam dont have to go through i guess they say and its only if thats what i would says law doesnt work because its so complicated although i feel its a lot. Will you have a go back to come just an engine car doesnt it then move. No other country in the world has more electric cars per capita than norway 65 percent of all new cars sold here are electric or hybrid models the figures just 7 percent in germany its not a coincidence its political will norway wants to be a pioneer it sees climate protection as an opportunity for its economy not a threat its already world leader and emission Free Technology for ships. Drivers of electric cars enjoy Tax Exemptions free or cheap or Public Parking and the use of bus lanes charging stations and parking garages are standard. I meet up with christina who her association represents the interests of norwegian electric car owners her voice counts not just in norway german politicians and industry executives have also sought her advice. This clear direction. Is for the consumers also a clear sign that this is this is where were going and this is this is the future im really sick of hearing Car Manufacturers blaming consumers saying consumers are not ready if someone asked me if i wanted a smart phone before i launched i would have understood even. If so many are now want to take the smart phone to wait for me i would have you know its a same with electric mobility the norwegian case show that if prices level consumers are more than ready to go electric so dont blame us dont blame the consumers do do the job. In oslo 77 percent of all new cars sold are electric within a year Carbon Dioxide emissions have dipped by 9 percent. Norway didnt invent the Battery Powered car in fact alternatives to can bust in engines have been around for a long time in 1975 mercedes rolled out its 1st emission for event. In 1976 mark the birth of books wagons electric gold. B. M. W. Launched its easy one in the early 1990 s. D. S. We showcased our 1st electric cars of the 1972 Olympic Games and are going to be a company a marathon run we now have 20 years of experience under our belt and i think weve mastered the technology that. Its give us 5 maybe 10 years then well be ready like to. Go so whats a. 27 years later and were still not ready. Germany is nowhere near to reaching its 2020 climate goals which foresee a 1000000 electric vehicles on its road next year instead were still debating. Our threshold set in stone. Is the Diesel Engine better the. Its tattered reputation. Art electric cars polluters in other ways. The Geneva Motor ShowStomping Ground of the tradition conscious car industry here nothing seems out of order. After all. Is unveiling a ban on its electric. Unfortunately its not for sale yet. And that it presents the g. O. P. 53435. 00 horsepower 212 grams of c o 2 per kilometer this is a round that makes me feel like i can anything anywhere at any time thank you very much. Thank. You thank you that. They do that. Today most german electric vehicles have been hybrids big heavy and above all the expensive prices start at 70000. 00 euros the premium segment has a quote higher price elasticity which is another way of saying it reaps bigger profits for managers and shareholders. Small affordable mass market ready german manufacturers have been slow on the uptake. Carnation germany is evidently in no hurry to join the revolution. Its counting on tried and tested technology on slow change. As a seasoned expert on the Auto Industry and hes growing increasingly concerned. With us so the for i think german carmakers have a 5050 chance of surviving this world the worlds it could be that germany is simply a victim of its own success. But on the whole with its auto manufacturers industry and political backing it was too comfortable to recognize the. Changes and draw the correct conclusions. To see in. Germany has yet to produce a master plan for coping with the changing Automobile Industry maybe because change is the opposite of what the government and carmakers have bonded over. Some 800000 jobs are directly dependent on the Auto Industry many more are indirectly dependent. Annual turnover. Over 400000000000 euro is. One reason why german politicians have long worked to avert any threat to the car industry protecting the sector from sudden disruptive change. But that. In 2018 the german chancellor addressed an annual gathering of german industry deep. Kima the latigo we cannot alter the climate goals that weve set for ourselves and to an extent adopted as part of european climate targets as a whole particularly for 2035. B. N. Via. I didnt see anything beyond those efforts threatens to drive the Auto Industry out of europe comic is would produce the cost they sell here somewhere else i stress that i do not want that to happen. Is change necessarily a threat when it comes to the Auto Industry the German Government seems to think so again from it all nuclear more use all means to fight restrictions as in driving bans our goal is to avoid driving bans and shape the future of mobility in a way that includes clean Combustion Engines. Clean Combustion Engines a flexible concept in germany driving bans a red flag threatening to curtail open roads for free citizens. The diesel emissions scandal showed anger in germany. The Auto Industry stalled then cheated then covered it up. And then cities imposed driving restrictions. Waiting for compensation germanys yellow vests feel betrayed by corporations and punished by politicians. Automotive freedom subsidized diesel fuel commuter allowances incentives to sweeten life in the suburbs. But now they say theyre footing the bill for mistakes made by industry and government. No its not like that its not true of course they cheated and v. W. Has to answer for that but we cant be punished as a result of. This will have a huge impact on germany for years to come affecting the Auto Industry and its. All the way down to the last mechanic. Germany failed to get in the drivers seat and forge a path for others to follow. It may prove an existential mistake because while we germans are still arguing about past emissions the rest of the world is already on the road to a new era. China the worlds biggest and most important market. Its still growing. German carmakers helped our mass motor ization here and made a lot of money in the command of market share of 23. 2 percent in the Combustion Engine sector but just 0. 4 percent in the electric car sector and thats a problem. No one can beat germany when it comes to technology for diesel and gasoline engines it has 130 years of experience. But when it comes to electric vehicles everyone is taking off from the same starting line and china is racing ahead. By 2025. About 25 percent of cars to be plug in hybrids or Battery Powered not least because the country is suffocating in small. But 25 percent in china equals the combined total of new cars sold in germany france and britain its a giant piece of the pie. A pod that if germany isnt careful it will be divided up among others. China aims to stop selling Combustion Engine cars in 11 years. Ive arranged to meet a german top manager who spent years at b. M. W. He helped develop the i ate a small electric revolution at the time. But then he turned his back on germany and came to china. He took out this Development Team with him. What opportunities did cost and pride failed identify here that he didnt see in germany. Which you know the vehicle is doing things happen in china at lightning speed and its a gigantic market with 30000000. 00 new cars sold each year and theres a ton of capital and investors in china and the issue has strong government backing in china if the government says more electric cars are the goal then the decision is made to install 50000. 00 charging stations and by the next month theyre in place one of them so normally the follow up question in any interview is does that mean im against democracy and naturally i say no im not but if i look at the european democratic structures then i see how we spend about a decade discussing new ideas and after a decade all thats left is 10 percent of the original idea so we need to realize that if we maintain that pace of Decision Making and realization that we just wont be able to keep abreast of Global Developments and going and. Going in the. Las vegas the annual c. S. Trade show spotlights high Tech Innovations from around the world. Before his current venture cost and buy failed help to build this car for chinese startup by. German manufacturing expertise lots of cash and unlimited government backing the ingredients china is using to power ahead on the market the mbai is a 40000. 00 euro electric s. U. V. With a one meter 20 screen a tablet on wheels for video conferences or Online Shopping past the time and traffic jams it set for production late 2019. Mercy eightys is here to with a glass prototype. The mid range Combustion Engine cars on the other hand can be purchased. B. M. W. Also has a vision the i next electrics driving with a shag carpet its not for sale. I mean it another high profile german who jumped ship called thomas noirmont was on the books and board. C. E. O. Of continental and then opel now he lives in the u. S. Where hes launched a startup. Is this really the dawn of a new era the dawn of a new era and down here we have the biggest s. U. V. That b. M. W. Has ever built is not emblematic of the Current Situation in the german car industry. But sure you can say that its kind of symbolic of whats going on. So it certainly looks more like a dinosaur than futuristic. But the dinosaurs arent nearing extinction theyre still successful money makers in the twilights of the Combustion Engine. Can success hinder progress. Just because the german Auto Industry being held back by its own success i do think thats a big part of it yes its hard to give up. Success and say to some extent i have to destroy that success to create a new one if ones now you werent exactly in a bad position at opel to make a start why didnt you. If only did try and there i would have liked a fully electrify opel because when the emissions scandal hit i realized its not enough to just adhere to the laws you need to develop a new mindset because thats the time for god and the mindset i would have liked for opel would have been able to full switch to electric car production by 2030. Then we could have gone to lawmakers and said hey we need the framework so that this can work we both need to make sure this happens jobs will be lost but new ones will be created and electric vehicles will give rise to new Business Opportunities but where is this being discussed in germany or even in europe. Maybe we germans simply cant part with their gas guzzlers yet because theyre our invention and so slick. Perfect machines with High Precision parts that just keep Getting Better and stronger heavier. 2. 5 tons german engineering genius the most complex driving machine in history. An electric car doesnt need all that instead of an estimated 2000 moving parts it has just 200 simply beneath our dignity. Carnation germany appears comatose its as if all the changes have nothing to do with us alternative engines Driverless Cars new visions of transport. Why cant we catch up. Were a country of engineers perfection took us to the top. And continuity kept us there. Abrupt change is exactly the opposite. I have an appointment with a cot now he chairs a Government Advisory Panel want to research. Innovation. And he has an explanation for whats gone wrong in germany. As you know you have to work hard to attain the status of innovation leader the danger is that once youve made it to the top and theres a reversal then you get the socalled lock in effect the lock in effect means im trapped inside and can barely see a way out apart from extremely high expenditure so in the case of the Auto Industry we are now at the top of our game in fossil fuel powered cars no one comes close. But stepping out of that comfort zone towards other types of engines is associated with very high costs conversion costs transaction costs and thats called luck and thats what we have here in the german Auto Industry and thats the challenge. Is to. How should policymakers be steering developments. In processes of deep structural change the government has a responsibility to secure peoples incomes but not their jobs. And no one should get left behind amid such structural change there needs to be a safety net somewhere. Else. Trying to preserve jobs and sectors where i can see that World Markets have already moved those sectors in a new direction is the worst mistake you can make. It cant have escaped anyones notice that things are moving in a new direction in the sector. Gate the emissions crisis theoretically a good time to be mapping out a Transformation Plan for policymakers to more of the same cant be the answer in a world undergoing radical change others call the shots why is germany like a rudderless ship the german transport minister didnt have time to answer our questions instead we speak to a junior minister stepped in did go. Our country is closely connected to the Automotive Industry so we need to consider the impact that major transformations will have on john. For us this transformation is a process of evolution not revolution and were managing quite well. But isnt it precisely because of that responsibility that we should be driving innovation. Weve always pursued Ambitious Goals at the european level which our Automotive Industry has to implement. But there have been times when it seemed there was little Political Support for the most ambitious. Proposals within the europe wide debate that we dont consider productive. In my view should not be that we decide today. What will look like in germany in the years 20202030 or 2050 develop in the coming years. When the car industry does well germany does well. Is a cornerstone of government policy. But what happens if the decades old symbiotic relationship between government and the car industry can no longer provide answers to todays challenges and the climate crisis. Is one of germanys leading researchers in the field of transport. The german Auto Industry to. 6700000 jobs that we still have because were protecting something that has no chance of survival. Of the German Government be making to keep us as a nation of carmakers competitive. Well policymakers have had a Long Term Plan and please everybody fred cars. Cars go with the good life and even better if everyone buys german cars German Technology with gasoline and Diesel Engines both german inventions thats what weve been pushing the view very good whats the danger. Of the the politics if we continue this policy then well be overtaken because the world around us is different people and countries and above all cities elsewhere in the world have long since made the decision to phase out Combustion Engines and switch to battery operated cars. If we dont play along well lose crucial export markets and well be sitting on technologies and cars that no one needs anymore. Thats a kind of a. Thats a problem and its accelerating germanys slams on the brakes. To make out in the eastern state of saxony has a long tradition of building cars. You opened a plant here in 1990 the gulf has been rolling off its Assembly Line for years. But its days are numbered change is coming probably also because a pioneer sounds better than emissions cheap books like it needs a new image. Its vehicles are responsible for 2 percent of global Carbon Dioxide emissions the worlds biggest carmaker wants to change that its now taking climate goals like paris 2050 seriously and electric vehicles are the future. Us helped devise the plan hes chief strategist at volkswagen a close associate of c. E. O. Have at d. C. He filled a new position at b. W. It never had a strategist before. We know what you call a strategy that propagates diesel cars for decades and then suddenly says the future is electric. For starters one doesnt rule out the other weve never said diesel cars have lost their relevance. But in view of the challenges we all face to meet the paris targets and bring down c o 2 levels v. W. As a mass market producer really has no other choice. But i wasnt but are we in germany reacting fast enough given the speed of developments around the world. It year every technological transformation comes with teething problems and whenever you rebuild something it takes 3 days before you get to run smoothly and another 3 days before you get used to it. If i dont get the feeling this will take 3 days yeah its well symbolically speaking. It can doubtlessly be sped up. Speed is what the car Industry Needs now its had its foot on the brakes for too long. The ws mass market electric model the id 3 will be built and take out. The company is funneling 400000000 euros and of the facilities conversion. But the switch to electric will make engine builders exhaust fitters fuel pump experts redundant. So b. W. Is sending them on what it calls a learning journey to prepare for the future. Long Term Employees will have new tasks. This is where the specialists are trained in a role play room called emotion. After a look back at the Company History trainees get a vision of the future with virtual reality. This is. Not. Just an experience that everyone at this plant is slated to share. Misfitting it was based on what you know so far do you think youre in for a big change. It will be a big change for everyone here. I mean w. Is. Out of the 17000 orders for electric vehicles but thats just the start the Company Builds 44000 vehicles every day. Since the. Change is coming but what about the german Auto Industry and government policy can we afford to be complacent or worse yet without a plan. China is building its own fleet of electric cars german engineers are helping. Now german car makers want change faster than the government. But transport minister calls folks bargains plan totally wrong and wants to keep an open technological mind. A look at norway Shows Government backed change gets results. So do clearly formulated goals but what we are telling you is how fast it goes yes and it be showing how fast that is so for the car industry the selling cars and all the future they have to be serious thats where to go and as opening up for thats just the masses we have to make it happen fast and every country will benefit from being in the forefront of this change he said the lightning behind. Its the end of an era but also the beginning of something new the sooner we accept that and sees it as an opportunity the better. Us will become all of this can be done if theres a will to get it done and if we just sit back and wait to see what happens then well face major problems and i think were already seeing the 1st signs of those problems today. If carnation germany doesnt look to the future than others will shape its future industry and government have sat back too long. More of the same is no model for the future we need to hit the road. And eco india. The world has a bit less plastic when tableware is edible. And afghan women refugees have jobs. This is what the drama is doing. Its a project started by students in new delhi. Weve sort of potential in that idea so even for us when that series. 30 minutes on d w. This is news coming to you live from berlin britains Prime Minister suffers a major defeat as parliament seizes control of the ranks of the german lawmakers want to prevent the u. K. From crashing out of the e. U. Without a deal forced johnson retaliates by saying hell call for an early election. Also coming up devastation in the bahamas the scale of the disaster caused by Hurricane Dorian begins to emerge tens of thousands of pounds have been destroyed huge numbers of people are without food