MUNICH, Germany — During a panel discussion at the Productronica trade fair, the top executive of automotive OEM Aston Martin Lagonda has found harsh words for the trend towards electric cars and the associated infrastructure developments.
Participating at the panel discussion were several top managers from industries associated to electronics and semiconductor production, as well as Ulrich Bez, chairman and CEO of sports car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda. The discussion centered about strategies to overcome the current crisis and came to the conclusion that innovation is one of the main constituents that help enterprises to survive.
At the question which essential innovations he sees for the automotive industry, Bez said that this industry has been very innovative since the 100 years it exists. He added that from his perspective the current zero-emission car and electrical car discussion is not overly substantial. The "noise" [about this topic] would not justify the real value of electric cars, he pointed out. "For the year 2020, the German government expects 1 million e-cars on the roads. That's nothing," he said.
Bez pointed out that professor Ferdinand Porsche already in 1900 had built an electric car with a driving range of 80 km. "There has not been much improvement since then," Bez said, referring to the still very limited driving range of today's e-cars.
He also criticized technical approaches that aim at using the batteries of electric cars to stabilize the power grid, an approach currently discussed in the industry. "Automotive comes from auto (the Greek word for "self") — I would not make my car available for charging the grid," Bez said.
Panelist Joseph Donahue, President of Tyco Electronics' Global Automotive Division, agreed in parts, conceding that the development for e-cars is still in its infancy. "The batteries are ways away", Donahue said. He added that in Europe the industry has made great progress in developing turbocharged motors in order to improve efficiency and reduce hydrocarbon and toxic emissions. In Asia, development of hybrid vehicles is rather advanced, he said. "But these concepts still account for a very small part of the market."
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