Combustion engine with expiration date
02/16/2023
So now it's definite, at least almost. Although individual countries could still overturn the EU's decision to only allow new vehicles that emit no CO2 when in use from 2035, this is not expected. It remains to be seen whether non-EU countries in Europe will follow this decision, but it is likely. And it remains to be seen whether the ban will be upheld if it turns out that the electricity grid is unable to meet demand or other new, perhaps as yet unknown, bottlenecks arise. See also the rekindled discussion about nuclear power plants. eFuel does not appear to be an acceptable solution in the EU Parliament either, at least for new cars.
This means that the last cars with combustion engines will be registered in 2034, at least in this country. Then it will probably only be exotic cars, super sports cars or extreme off-road vehicles that can meet the Euro 7 standards with enormous effort.
Then it's over. 20 years later, these cars will also be youngtimers, and another ten years later they will be classic cars, if they can be maintained and operated for such a long time.
The world of classic cars in 2055 or 2065 will definitely be different from today. In a sea of humming and singing electric cars, classic cars with combustion engines will stand out much more than they do today. Petrol filling stations will be as rare as electric charging stations are today. Restrictions then threaten to displace the old CO2 emitters, because what city center would not want to have air as clean as Zermatt, where combustion vehicles are already banned today?
By 2065, the oldest cars will be well over 150 years old - fascinating. They will have belonged to several generations by then. And even a Fiat 500E from the twenties of the new millennium will be a classic car by then, if it can survive until then and has not already been recycled long ago to make way for a more modern car with more powerful battery technology and even larger screens inside.
Yes, it is not easy to imagine the classic car world of 2065. For us at Zwischengas, the strategic question is whether we will be a medium that primarily covers the history of the combustion engine in the automobile by then or whether we will also turn our attention to other topics. But we still have a little time to answer this question, because even 2035 is still a dozen years away.
