Photo: Skoda
While most of the world can’t seem to ban fossil fuel-powered cars fast enough, some governments would rather zag where others are zigging. Such is the case with Czech prime minister Andrej Babis, who went as far as to call EU lawmakers “green fanatics.” So yeah, this should be fun.
Babis stated that he will defend his country’s car industry and will challenge the EU’s proposal to ban all gasoline and diesel-powered cars by 2035, as reported by Autonews Europe.
“We will not agree with the ban on selling fossil fuel-powered cars,” he told iDnes last week. “It’s not possible. We can’t dictate here what green fanatics devised in the European Parliament.”
The Czech Republic is one of the world’s biggest automotive producers on a per-capita basis, and this issue is set to become a top priority going forward, added Babis. He also stated that his country will support having the proper infrastructure for electric vehicles (obviously, since they make one in the fully-electric Skoda Enyaq), but will not subsidize their actual production.
The car industry accounts for nearly a third of the Czech economy. Home to the VW Group’s Skoda brand, the Czech Republic also houses two of Skoda’s own automotive factories, as well as factories for both Toyota and Hyundai.
Babis, who’s up for re-election next month, is clearly looking to protect certain national interests here by fighting against the EU and their ICE-ban. Calling them names probably isn’t going to help much, but we can also sympathize with various governments who feel as though they might not have the proper infrastructure in place for an all-out ICE-ban by 2035 – we can think of several Eastern European countries here.
Then again, a lot can be done in the next 14 years, and where there’s a will, there’s certainly a way.
“We will not agree with the ban on selling fossil fuel-powered cars,” he told iDnes last week. “It’s not possible. We can’t dictate here what green fanatics devised in the European Parliament.”
The Czech Republic is one of the world’s biggest automotive producers on a per-capita basis, and this issue is set to become a top priority going forward, added Babis. He also stated that his country will support having the proper infrastructure for electric vehicles (obviously, since they make one in the fully-electric Skoda Enyaq), but will not subsidize their actual production.
The car industry accounts for nearly a third of the Czech economy. Home to the VW Group’s Skoda brand, the Czech Republic also houses two of Skoda’s own automotive factories, as well as factories for both Toyota and Hyundai.
Babis, who’s up for re-election next month, is clearly looking to protect certain national interests here by fighting against the EU and their ICE-ban. Calling them names probably isn’t going to help much, but we can also sympathize with various governments who feel as though they might not have the proper infrastructure in place for an all-out ICE-ban by 2035 – we can think of several Eastern European countries here.
Then again, a lot can be done in the next 14 years, and where there’s a will, there’s certainly a way.
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