The Car Stimulus Deal

A fair amount of coalition work occurred this weekend, with discussions over the Corona stimulus package....between the CDU/CSU Party and the SPD Party.

The amount is already drafted up and known publicly.  It's to be in the five billion Euro range (roughly 6-billion US dollars).  How it works is the unknown.

Basically the only argument that came up here between the two 'camps'.....was whether you use the bulk of this money toward gas/diesel/hybrid/electric car sales, or simply hybrid/electric. 

The SPD folks?  They don't want gas or diesel cars to be in the mix.  They want to force the five billion Euro to be used only for the environmental 'answer'. 

For the manufacturing side of this.....they are kinda desperate for gas/diesel cars to sell....otherwise, you'd start to see downsizing plans laid out. 

Interest in the hybrid/electric side of this?  That's really the most significant problem.  The last two International Auto Shows out of Frankfurt....featured a lot of electric car displays.  People look at the offerings, ask some stupid questions, and simply avoid the discussion. 

Why the negativity?  I spent a lot of time looking over the idea, how the charging would affect me (and the wife), and the consequences. 

First, we do travel around Germany, and it's not unusual to drive to Munich.  From my location, with a full-charge, I could make it half-way to Munich before doing a re-charge.  Depending on which E-car I'd use....this recharge would require a minimum of 90 minutes and maybe up to six hours. That means I'd probably have to plan a major stop about halfway and anticipate this is going to eat up five hours of my time.  The cost of the re-charge?  We have a remarkable and high rate for electricity in Germany (lot of people fail to grasp that).  It's roughly 29-cents per KwH. 

The battery life?  Different batteries.....different outcomes.  The Tesla unit seems to be the 'Cadillac' of batteries.  Disposal cost of the old batteries?  No one is ever clear about this, and I often just wonder this discussion never occurs.  Somewhere around the 4th to 6th year.....if you intend to keep the car, a new battery likely comes into play.  The maintenance cost, along with the new battery, and disposal cost?  I just can't see this being done for less than 1,500 Euro.  Remember, you'd have to have this done by a qualified battery guy, and everything certified at the end.

But here's the hidden consequences discussion.  A lot of tax revenue is generated by gas and diesel sales.  If you suddenly had one-third of the nation on E-cars.....where will the tax revenue now come from?  No one from the journalism side or political side.....discusses this issue.  New taxes to come?  But how and where?

So frankly, I see this 5-billion Euro fund being created, and maybe a light bit of folks coming up in the next hundred days to buy new E-cars.  By December, I see the bulk of the money still there, and car companies having started terminations of manufacturing.  Consequences of the SPD Party?  You enter 2021 with a lot of people who work in the car industry who are angry....not a positive situation for a national election.