The automobile industry is tired of being the scapegoat: More than 80 speakers at the 44th International Vienna Motor Symposium would demonstrate "the industry's will to find solutions" toward a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, stressed Bernhard Geringer, Head of the Institute of Powertrains and Automotive Technology at the Vienna University of Technology in his opening speech. The booked-out symposium, with over 1,000 high-ranking participants from all over the world, took place in Vienna Hofburg from 26 to 28 April 2023.
The many paths to climate neutrality
"The future is electric", said Christoph Starzynski, Head of Development Electric Drive and Electric Vehicle Architecture at Mercedes-Benz AG. As of 2025, all new models at Mercedes will feature an all-electric powertrain, including those of its high-performance subsidiary AMG. Starzynski: "We have a clear claim to leadership in electrification and digitalisation. We plan to become completely climate-neutral by 2039." The Volkswagen Group also sees itself as a technology pioneer in electric mobility. In future, all European electric models by Ford and Mahindra will be based on Volkswagen's in-house MEB platform.
Thomas Schmall, Board Member for Technology at Volkswagen AG, also pointed out to the imperative for Europe to catch up in battery technology, the most important and expensive component of electric vehicles. Today, more than 95 percent of batteries are made by Asian manufacturers, who have also secured access to essential raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. In Europe, "we need to make sure to catch up", Schmall warned. Not an easy task considering the enormous subsidies granted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act for battery production in the USA, and the low electricity costs in China, as Schmall described in his speech. Where battery module costs per kilowatt hour are likely to be 127 US dollar in the USA and China for the above reasons, they are expected to range between 178 and 189 dollar in Europe. Volkswagen is investing billions to ramp up its own battery production and cell development. The first cell factory in Salzgitter, Germany, will go into operation in 2025, and the next one is planned for Valencia, Spain.
Euro7 may herald the end of compact cars
"The price of electric vehicles is still higher compared to their diesel or gasoline versions, which means that, for the time being, we will not be offering a battery electric vehicle", said Werner Tietz, Vice-president for Research and Development at SEAT. Seat customers would not pay the higher price for electric vehicles. In addition, "we cannot invest in electrification for two brands at the same time, and that's why we are currently focusing on Cupra." Wayne Griffiths, the CEO of Seat and Cupra, announced that the Cupra brand will be fully electric by 2030. Griffiths is critical of the Euro7 emission standard planned by the EU. He believes it brings only a small benefit for air quality, but would add around 2,000 euros to the price tag of internal combustion engines. Compact cars, the best-selling segment in Europe, may disappear from the market as a result of Euro7.
Powertrains must remain affordable
Stefan Hartung, CEO of Robert Bosch GmbH, "looks ahead with optimism". At the helm of one of the largest automobile suppliers worldwide, Hartung expressed a similar confidence as other representatives of Asian automobile manufacturers in Vienna: "Powertrains will definitely not be the same everywhere. They must correspond to the legal, economic, and social conditions of the individual regions - and they must be affordable."
While internal combustion engines for passenger cars will be virtually forbidden in Europe as of 2035, they will continue to prevail for a long time in Brazil, despite tight climate targets, as Hartung showed in an overview. But there, they will have to be powered by ethanol. In the US, federal states like California will only allow emission-free vehicles as of 2035, though these also include plug-in hybrid cars. Japan wants all new cars to be electric as of 2035, though it also accepts hybrid powertrains. China, the de-facto worldwide leader in battery-powered electromobility, also puts a strong focus on fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Affordable prices for environmentally friendly powertrains are particularly important in India, where, in addition to the rising number of new electric vehicles, Hartung also sees a great potential for internal combustion with biofuels, gas, and hydrogen, both for passenger cars and utility vehicles.
When it comes to lorries, European legislators, too, allow for different climate-neutral powertrains. In addition to fuel-cell powertrains, these also include hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines. According to Hartung, interest in these has soared in recent times. This powertrain has several advantages: It is considered readily available, robust, comparably cheap, and requires a lower hydrogen purity than the fuel cell version. Bosch plans to deliver the corresponding components for a hydrogen engine for lorries to India as early as 2024.
India pledged to become net CO2 neutral by 2070, said Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles. In extremely price-sensitive India, Chandra expects electric vehicles to reach a two-percent market share of new car sales in 2023. With a share of 81%, Tata Motors is currently the dominant player in India's electric vehicle market. The number of electric cars is expected to reach 1.1 million or 22% by 2028. The government injects 3.2 billion US dollar in the domestic production of alternative powertrains, and an additional 2.3 billion in battery manufacturing in India.
Hyundai, together with Kia, plans to sell more than three million battery electric vehicles and 500,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2030, said Sung Hwan Cho, CEO of Hyundai Mobis. Hyundai is also working together with Bosch on a hydrogen internal combustion engine for lorries. In addition, the group is advancing the development of autonomous driving vehicles. Hyundai employs this technology in driverless taxis in the US, and also in robots and flying taxis. However, the company has no plans to build driverless cars in the coming years.
"Miracle battery" by 2025
As the maker of Prius, the first hybrid vehicle introduced 25 years ago, Toyota considers itself a pioneer of electric mobility. Toyota has sold more than 20 million hybrid cars ever since, said Gerald Killmann, Senior Vice President for Purchase and R&D at Toyota Motor Europe in Vienna. He assured that hybrid and plug-in-hybrid technology will continue to play an essential role in reducing CO2 emissions at Toyota. Next to lithium-ion batteries, the continued use of the less expensive nickel metal hydride battery will ensure that the company's models remain affordable. In addition, Toyota plans to introduce a solid-state battery in a hybrid car around 2025. Due to its high safety and energy density (double the range), it is seen as a "miracle battery". Transitioning the battery to serial status, however, has proven more difficult than anticipated. In addition, Toyota is working on the next generation of fuel cell technology.
The company set its sales target for 2030 at eight million electrified vehicles, of which 3.5 million will be battery electric vehicles. Moreover, Toyota is developing internal combustion engines for hydrogen or CO2-neutral fuels such as bio-ethanol. Killmann called for an open approach to diversification in energy and power technology - using nature as a proven model: "It's not a single animal or plant, it's diversity that makes life on earth possible".
In his concluding speech, Helmut Eichlseder, Head of the Institute of Thermodynamics and Sustainable Propulsion Systems at the Graz University of Technology said that "the availability of regenerative energy" would be essential for all powertrains. He suggested that, considering the accompanying infrastructure required, this was going to be "a mammoth task".
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