Skip to main content

Germany accelerates implementation of emobility infrastructure

While global sales of German autos are buoyant, significant efforts are underway to expand the emobility infrastructure in Germany. Several projects now support the implementation of alternative drivetrain concepts. Four new model regions were recently selected by the federal government. In total they will be granted up to US$235 million to implement pilot and demonstration projects to showcase cutting-edge technology.
May 8, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
While global sales of German autos are buoyant, significant efforts are underway to expand the emobility infrastructure in Germany. Several projects now support the implementation of alternative drivetrain concepts. Four new model regions were recently selected by the federal government. In total they will be granted up to US$235 million to implement pilot and demonstration projects to showcase cutting-edge technology.

"From suppliers to manufacturers to researchers, Germany's automotive industry is drawing companies from all over the world. Not only can businesses serve the largest market in Europe, they can also gain a first-mover advantage in areas like emobility and fuel efficiency, while finding an excellent infrastructure," said Emilio Brahmst, automotive industry expert at Germany Trade & Invest, the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany

The education system in Germany also supports new developments in the auto sector. Universities, research institutes and companies work together on the latest innovations. At the same time, the so-called dual education system emphasises trades that are critical to the sector. The city of Hanover, for example, launched an apprentice programme last month to teach its 1,260 students alternative drivetrain technologies.

"The auto industry is the hallmark of German innovation. Nearly 40 per cent of companies conducting research in Germany are from the USA, many of them in this sector. In the current environment, we see excellent opportunities for companies to invest," said Brahmst.

Related Content

  • Include ITS in policy decisions from the start, not as an afterthought
    February 1, 2012
    DG TREN's Fotis Karamitsos, on why the European Commission's new ITS Action Plan is looking to the past for future direction. The European Commission's (EC's) new Action Plan for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe, which was announced as 2008 drew to a close, intends that transport and travel become 'cleaner; more efficient, including energy efficient; and safer and more secure'. At first sight, that wording might be interpreted as marking a significant policy shift within Europe, wit
  • Let the market decide on green technologies - Global Automakers
    May 21, 2012
    “To encourage wider deployment of green technologies, including innovations that our members have on display at the Washington Auto Show this week, the government should not pick winners and losers but let the marketplace decide,” said Global Automakers’ president and CEO Michael J. Stanton, whose association represents 15 international automobile manufacturers.
  • Volkswagen to step up EV development
    October 16, 2015
    Volkswagen will cut investment plans at its biggest division by US$1.1 billion a year and step up development of electric vehicles (EV), as it battles to cope with the fallout from its cheating of diesel emissions tests, according to Reuters. The German company also said it would speed up cost cutting at the VW division, its largest by revenues, and put only the latest and ‘best environmental technology’ in diesel vehicles.
  • Next Generation 911, updating the US 911 emergency system
    February 1, 2012
    Continuing developments in telecommunications and public expectation have left the US's legacy, analogue 911 emergency call system trailing. Linda D. Dodge, Public Safety Program Manager for the ITS programme in USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, the sponsor of the Next Generation 911 initiative, writes about efforts towards updating