BMW boss: Petrol and diesel ban could be 'harmful for the climate'

BMW chairman Oliver Zipse on Wednesday warned that setting a date for the end of petrol and diesel cars could in fact harm the climate.

"We believe this would be harmful to the climate," Zipse said. "Things have not been thought through to the end here."

He pointed out that there are not enough charging stations for electric cars in Germany and Europe, nor is there enough green electricity. If new combustion cars were banned from registration, older cars would be driven even longer.

At the UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, 24 countries and six major car manufacturers want to agree on an end date for the sale and registration of cars with combustion engines.

Under the plan, only zero-emission cars and vans should be on the road in the leading markets by 2035.

Path 'not trivial'

"I can only warn against going down this path," said Zipse. "We have not signed up to this and will not do so."

BMW wants to be climate-neutral by 2050, but Zipse warned that "the path is not as trivial as it is made out to be."

To prevent the gap between the charging infrastructure and the growth in e-cars from widening, he called for tax advantages to make investments more appealing.