The e-fuels issue that almost prevented Europe from banning the sale of combustion-powered vehicles in 2035 won’t go away easily. Germany first made the decision to oppose the prohibition and compelled the EU to provide funding for e-fuels. In backing of Porsche, who invested millions of euros pushing legislators for a non-existent issue, it was done. Yes, e-fuels remain a long way from becoming a commercially viable product, if they ever do.
So it comes as a surprise to hear Thomas Shafer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, refer to e-fuels as “unnecessary noise”. Porsche and Volkswagen are practically one firm, so this is starting to feel like a family feud. Shafer reiterated that the ID.2all Concept, the smallest electric vehicle produced by Volkswagen, will sell for below €20,000 when it eventually goes on sale in 2026 while speaking to Automotive News Europe.
Shafer first argued that e-fuels would play a role in the near future but later gave up and admitted that they could not possibly take the place of electric vehicles. Shafer had the following to say as Oliver Blume, CEO of the VW Group, is portrayed online as the bad guy in the e-fuel drama:
“Mr. Blume isn’t the one behind it. I guarantee it, the CEO of the Volkswagen corporation said. “There are many misconceptions around this e-fuels discussion. They complement current fleets but do not take the place of electric vehicles. That is just rubbish. View the physics involved in producing e-fuels. Why squander energy on e-fuels when we already don’t have enough?
The Volkswagen Corporation is expediting the switch to electric vehicles, with a goal of totally eliminating combustion engines by 2033. After the release of the VW T-Roc next year, the company will no longer produce new combustion engines.
E-fuels are not a viable alternative to electric vehicles, despite what is being advertised. E-fuels do not yet exist outside of a laboratory setting and are not at all clean. They just reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2) tailpipe emissions while continuing to generate hazardous gases, such as nitrous oxide.
E-fuel manufacturers promote their products as “green” since they are produced using renewable energy, yet this entirely misses the point. While using renewable sources of energy as often as we can, we also need to completely eliminate tailpipe emissions, not only reduce them. For the past 50 years, we have been decreasing them; take a look at where we are now.
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