The replacement of the full automotive fleet in Poland for electrical vehicles could take up to 190 years – according to calculations presented by Jacek Pawlak, president of Toyota Central Europe. In an interview with xyz.pl portal Pawlak critically evaluates the efforts to electrify transport, pointing to advanced costs, infrastructure problems and limited impact on CO2 reduction. According to him, the future could belong to hydrogen technology, not to battery cars.
Why didn't electrical cars meet expectations?
– This full electrification, especially erstwhile it comes to battery cars, which were expected to be a breakthrough, ended in a full fiasco – Pawlak states. The problem is the deficiency of consumer interest. electrical cars are expensive, impractical and have limited coverage, which further complicates insufficient charging infrastructure.
Currently 19 million cars are registered in Poland. Meanwhile, yearly sales of electrical vehicles are only 15,000. Even assuming an optimistic increase of up to 100,000 per year, it would take almost 2 centuries to complete fleet replacement. – What are we talking about? – Pawlak asks rhetorically, adding that Poland constantly imports more than 1 million old cars from Germany annually, which further worsens the situation in terms of emissions.
Transport and CO2 emissions
According to Pawlak, excessive concentration on passenger transport as a origin of CO2 emissions is unjustified. – Transport in Europe accounts for 16% of emissions, of which little than half make passenger cars. Why do we not deal with the another 84 percent? – he notes. On a global scale, passenger cars in Europe account for only 1.5% of emissions, making mass electrification not a key solution to climate change.
Loading infrastructure – Achilles heel of the electrical revolution
Polish charging infrastructure leaves much to be desired. presently there are only 7–8 1000 loaders in the country, mainly concentrated in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. By comparison, the number of gas stations is over 7,000. Pawlak cites absurdities resulting from this state of affairs: – Hotels complain that guests bring long cables to burden cars from balconies.
Loading costs have besides ceased to be competitive with fossil fuels. – A fewer years ago, 1 could say that charging was cheaper than refueling. present we have the most costly electricity in Europe – says president Toyota Central Europe.
Ridiculous EU regulation
Pawlak criticises the European Commission's policy, which imposes penalties on producers for not selling electrical cars enough. “We producers have invested billions of euros in fresh technologies. The state did not invest in either a charger or green energy. And who will be punished? To producers who, as the only ones, did their homework, she notes.
According to Pawlak, imposing electrification can deprive Poles of mobility. “The claim that everyone should buy electrical cars means that 90 percent of Polish society will not be able to drive cars due to the fact that they cannot afford it,” he emphasises.
Hydrogen – Future technology?
President Toyota Central Europe points to hydrogen as a possible solution to automotive and energy problems. Hydrogen cars have ranges comparable to combustion vehicles, and their refueling takes respective minutes. In addition, this technology can be utilized in dense transport and energy.
– Hydrogen offers immense opportunities, but requires state support and investment in infrastructure – Pawlak points out. According to the expert, the improvement of hydrogen technology can be a more effective way to decarbonise than mass electrification, which presently faces many applicable problems.
Summary
The current automotive electrification strategy in Poland faces a number of barriers: advanced electrical vehicle costs, insufficient charging infrastructure and limited impact on global CO2 emissions. According to Jack Pawlak, the future may belong to hydrogen, which offers greater practicality and efficiency in the fight against climate change. However, strong investment in the improvement of this technology and appropriate state policies are needed to accomplish this.
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The electrical revolution in the automotive manufacture proved to be a failure," said Toyota's boss
