BS, the vast majority of German drivers are frugal about spending money for fuel and prefer efficiency over power. There will always be the minority gearheads who will scream the loudest.
No offence intended but Duh. People who are passionate about something dont want it banned. I’m one of those people and yes we will push back because we all know most of the worlds polution is caused by big buisness and industry. When people talk about banning ALL combustion engines it reads to me like “recycling will save the environment”
Most of the worlds driving population doesnt give a fuck about driving enjoyment or feel any real passion for driving or cars. The enthusiasts and enthusiast cars arent the lions share of the problem. If the electric grocery getters were significantly cheaper the vast majority of people will adopt them. Id gladly only take my petrol engine out for special occasions if I could also afford an EV to get stuck in traffic in.
most of the worlds polution is caused by big buisness and industry.
There is definitely truth in this. But I also think it’s a dangerous attitude to perpetuate. Because blaming the majority offender can counterintuitively leading to an endless loop of passing responsibility along. Case in point when some people in relatively smaller countries argue that its not their responsibility to cut emissions because countries like China and India are the majority polluters. China and India can then point to developed countries having made more cumulative emissions over time. Eventually someone has to take a stand and make a change, even if the main impact is to initiate a cultural shift.
I’d argue that a lot of Germans are rightfully nostalgic about the quality of cars from before the automotive industry pioneered enshittification in the mid 2000s. Electric cars weren’t even viable back then because of the state of battery technology. That only became decent well after all cars had already been thoroughly enshittified, so there is no way of buying a non enshittified electric car, because nobody is even making one.
Our electric car is currently in the shop and we got a IC one as a replacement. I can’t even express how much it annoys me to feel the car shift (at least its an automatic) and make noise when I accelerate. And that’s a quality car, so it’s muffled already.
We really get spoiled in our EVs, ngl.
Every time I drive: “Why can’t my car be more quiet?”
Me, constantly, about everything: “Why can’t it all be more quiet?”
after riding in an electric car, every IC engine sounds like a tractor
And even the high quality ones overall feel so clumsy and rattling
German here… this is bullshit. Of course some people love combustion cars. But most people doesnt really care. Moste people care for price, safety, and functions.
Too bad for them?? We really love the sounds and looks of old steam trains but understand that they’re not the grandest for the environment so we prefer electric trains over all.
Muh big machine vroom vroom. Some people are so dumb 🤦🏻
What ? Emotional connection to a car ? They are describing a phsycological problem.
Some people just wants the familiar because we still have simplistic lizard brain. This even goes with manual and automatic cars, there are people who dismiss automatic cars and look down on its drivers. But the same people quickly change their minds once they drive automatic.
Why though? EVs have way, WAY less maintenance and “fuel” cost.
Let’s see an EV on the road after 15 or 20 years.
Battery replacement?
That costs how much?
Refurbished price for a whole new battery 5-10 k€. Swapping the dead cells in existing battery: 3-7 k€. Bear in mind: these things have a lifespan of 10-12 years. Most cars are younger than that.
So pretty much uneconomical to even think about it.
No. Cheaper options like the Renault 5 E-tech cost 25 k€, expensive products like the BMW i4 about 60 k€. How’s it more economical to throw this thing into the trash and buy a new one instead of just repairing it?
The repair is outrageously expensive for the short time after which it becomes necessary. A car where a central component of the power train fails regularly after only 10 to 15 years was unimaginable not too long ago. And the prices of new cars are outrageous, too.
It’s not just noise, and not just cars.
The sound of “fast” for me is a liquid cooled two stroke motorcycle engine. Imprinted on them in my teens. And the smell of “fast” is burned fully synthetic two stroke oil. It’s been thirty years and I still get a positive emotional reaction to hearing and smelling a “modern” two stroke engine running.
These days I drive a “boring” emissions compliant diesel (not a VW 😜) and ride a four stroke. But I deeply understand the emotional connection people have to the sensory experience of their vehicles. For me it’s freedom, excitement, speed, challenge.
I liken it to listening to your favorite band on headphones vs seeing them in concert. One experience is just hearing the song, the other you feel with your whole body.
But for everyday use, I would rather just listen to music on my headphones instead of constantly being at a concert :D
To each their own, I’d rather hear music live in the open air than through headphones.
That’s very endearing, Germany. Now be big boys and rip off the bandaid. You’ve been through worse.
It is a car. you will be calling it junk and replacing it in a few years. So don’t get emothional.
I get it - a stick shift ICE may not accelerate as fast/smooth - but it is a lot more fun. However driving is a serious task with potential to kill people. You can’t treat it like a game
everything’s a game to the treat-pilled brain
And that is something they can look back fondly on.
It’s not “emotionally hard to accept” it’s financially hard to purchase.
While I would agree, many people really do hate the idea of electric cars for no other reason than nostalgia for combustion engines. But it’s changing.
There are definitely die-hard fans of combustion engine cars, but realistically, the majority would gladly switch if electric cars were affordable and the infrastructure was in place. However, EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric cars while local manufacturers failed to provide accessible options.
There’s more than the polar facets of EV v ICE.
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Driving EVs feel sterile and unfun, the constant haptic feedback of the gentle purring of the IC engine is like a warm hug that helps folks relax. There’s a lot of bad around internal combustion but one of the biggest draws is how sitting in a car can feel comfortable. It helps children and the tired fall asleep.
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EVs feel like the techbro solution to mobility, the dry and single serving purpose of “cleanly move the thing” without understanding the little parts of the experience that are really inviting.
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EVs also don’t have a lot of feedback when driving like a manual transmission. There is no thrill. No opportunity to thrill unless you subscribed to a service package. Fun is gated so you only get a boring transport experience.
There’s a lot of reasons that EVs aren’t appealing to a generation that can compare the old and new.
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I know plenty people that are buying new cars (not cheap ones) and are deliberately not going electric. It is not about the money for some people…
I would immediately buy an electric car if i had a loading station at home… with the loading infrastructur in germany and the costs, it’s simply not viable for me.
My coworker has a home with solar on the roof and a wall box, he basicly drives for free.
This! The next public charger is a 15 minute walk away, I would have to pick up the car once it has finished charging, and they are costing an arm and a leg. So it’s more comfortable and cheaper to drive a combustion car, even though I like the silence and torque of an electric car.
I switched to an EV in 2019 whilst living in a flat. No chance to charge at home, very limited public charging opportunities, with the next public charger a 20 minute walk away and ONE fast charger on the other end of town, a 30 minute drive.
It did work despite all these issues. And now, 2026, charging is so much less of an issue. Almost every supermarket has some kind of Fast Charger available. Just look at it if it’s EnBW, MER, EWE or whatever else, pay the 5-10 Euros per month for their subscription and you’ll charge for almost the same price like home. And, as most of us go shopping at least once a week, that’s a huge nothingburger there.
Just give it a try. Maybe rent an EV is a good start. But be careful: Driving an EV is addictive. Once you’ve tasted it, you don’t want to go back
Unfortunately nowadays the quick chargers at the supermarkets are occupied most of the time, at least in my area. As I try to go shopping only once per week, this is to much of a risk for me. 5 minutes at the gas station is just easier 🙁
