Maserati boss Harald Wester has described electrically powered cars as "nonsense", saying regulatory bodies need to take a more realistic approach to how they measure emissions before pushing through regulations that favour them.
Citing statistics that suggest average power station efficiency means the average electric car requires 86g of CO2 to be produced to travel a kilometre in Europe, 110g/km in the USA and 191g/km in China.
Wester said: "All this discussion about zero emissions is nonsense. Nobody talks about the efficiency of how the battery is charged. It varies strongly from region to region, depending on how the energy is produced, nuclear, coal and so on, but even the best is not ahead of the internal combustion engine."
He conceded that Maserati could be forced to develop a hybrid powertrain option to meet stringent emissions legislation, especially in the US, but said: "It looks like something we will have to, but the only reason to do it is to meet regulations. We don't see it as a significant business.
"Diesel and CNG are the more obvious answers if CO2 is the focus. Both are more viable answers than hybrid. If they gave us a CO2 target instead of imposing technology then we would go that way.
"If we want a realistic solution to emissions then the regulators need to be more honest in how they calculate emissions. Electric cars are not the answer."
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All you guys in favour of
All you guys in favour of this hybrid fad, you have no idea how polluting the process of making those batteries is. Building batteries is absolutely hazardous to the environment, if that's what you really want to protect you're better off driving a twin turbo V12 engine, as the carbon footprint of the car will be lower overall. I agree with the sentiment that electric power is not the future but a last alternative. Cars can be very clean these days, using natural gas, or alternatively hydrogen.
He is right for now. Sadly, I
He is right for now. Sadly, I feel that unlike most here, I do not see a future for the 'motor car', though we may as well enjoy it whilst we can still afford to do so, I guess.
Lewis Kingston
Wester has clearly never read UK motoring media - debate about 'well-to-wheel' EV efficiency is, quite rightly, rampant. As for an electric vehicle at its 'best' not being ahead of an ICE, he's factually inaccurate. How can he claim the emissions for an ICE are lower than those of an EV charged from renewable energy (e.g. your own solar panels on the roof of your house)? That's proper closed-loop sustainability...