The German Government Wants To Ban The Sale Of All New Petrol And Diesel Cars By 2030

In as little as 15 years, the car landscape could look very different across Europe. We heard only a couple of weeks ago that Norway wants all new cars sold in the country by 2025 to be zero emissions, and now it’s emerged Germany’s government wants to do the same just five years later.

Autocar reports that German Deputy Economy Minister Rainer Baake has said this is the only way the country can hit its target of an 80 per cent reduction in C02 emissions by 2050. Speaking to a forum hosted by German publication Tagesspiegel, Baake explained: “The fact is, there’s been no reduction at all in CO2 emissions by transport since 1990.”

What’s interesting about this - apart from the fact the country is responsible for a lot of our favourite fast cars - is that unlike Norway, electric cars aren’t that popular in Germany. While 25 per cent of new cars sales in Norway are made up of EVs, Autocar reports that just 25,000 ‘zero emissions’ vehicles are registered in Germany right now.

It’s early days of course, and it’ll be a while before comments made by a minster will translate into an actual law, if they ever do. But with drastic, car-banning emissions reduction methods becoming more common, this certainly something to watch with interest.