The horse is still legal — and that is exactly VW's point about electric cars

© A. Krivonosov

Volkswagen suggests it is time to stop arguing only about banning petrol cars. Martin Sander, VW board member for sales, marketing and aftersales, believes electric vehicles should win not through bans, but through clear advantages for the buyer.

His analogy is blunt. «Do you know when horses were banned? When was it forbidden to buy a horse?» — Sander asked in an interview with AutoExpress. The point is simple: nobody banned horses, but people moved to cars on their own because it turned out to be faster and more convenient to get from point A to point B. Volkswagen believes a similar shift will happen with EVs, provided the conversation does not revolve solely around the fear of an ICE ban.

Sander says we need to «take all the barriers away»: build out the charging infrastructure, explain the benefits of electric vehicles more calmly and possibly tackle energy prices. Some buyers will then move to EVs on their own. And if by 2035 there are still 3–5% of customers who want a car with a combustion engine, that will no longer be the central conflict of the market.

At the same time, Volkswagen is not abandoning a mixed line-up. The company will continue to sell ICE cars, mild hybrids, full hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. In Europe this matters especially because of upcoming regulation: combustion-car sales will not vanish entirely, but manufacturers will have to cut CO2 emissions sharply against 2021 levels.

VW’s bet is not only on premium EVs. The company has already revealed the electric ID. Polo, which will be sold alongside the previous-generation petrol Polo. The ID.4 is due for a major update, and the ID.7 in saloon and estate form has already had a decent reception in Europe. Range-extender EVs, however, Volkswagen is in no rush to bring to Europe: Sander sees a market for them in China, but not in Germany or the EU.

For the buyer, this whole philosophy will not come down to elegant comparisons but to three things: the price of the car, charging speed and convenience on long trips. Until those questions are solved everywhere, nobody is keeping a horse in the garage — but a petrol car does not yet look like a museum exhibit either.