Readers Digest UK - December 2021

DECEMBER 2021 • 81

the delayed installation of charging

infrastructure in the EU. The EU

Commission quickly needs to take

action and set binding targets for the

ramp-up of charging infrastructure

in the member states. Otherwise,

even the current reduction targets in

the sense of something that you
might even call a mobile home.
And I think that's where the new
competitive environment will be.”

Electric power is critical to the
potential of autonomous control—
already cars are being banned from
city centres across the world if their
emissions are not low enough, so
the demand, led by both legislation
and consumers, will push us more
and more towards electric cars. Ford,
Jaguar, Fiat, VW, BMW, Renault, and
many others have already pledged
to have only electric cars on sale in
Europe by the end of this decade.
Audi has said it will launch its last
petrol-powered car in 2026.
While the technology now exists
to give even relatively affordable
electric cars ranges of more than
250 miles (400km) on a single charge
of their battery, much more needs
to be done in the coming years to
improve the ability to charge those
batteries. Fast chargers are becoming
faster, but they are still sparse on the
ground in many places, and their
reliability is suspect. Charging at
home, overnight, is the most sensible
and most affordable option, but
it’s difficult-to-impossible for those
living in apartments, or even terraced
houses. Oliver Zipse, chief executive
of BMW, has said: “European
automakers are driving the transition
to e-mobility but the success of this
huge effort is seriously threatened by

READER’S DIGEST

NUMEROUS CAR

MAKERS HAVE

PLEDGED TO HAVE

ONLY ELECTRIC CARS

ON SALE BY THE END

OF THIS DECADE