(Newswire.net — October 31, 2017) — Electric cars possess an even greater threat to our enviroment, according to Sergio Marchionne, the head at Fiat Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari.
Marchionne is a man who knows the automotive industry to its core. His predictions on car industry trends were always taken for granted without suspicion because he was always right. Last week, however, he shocked electrical car lobbyists by stressing that electrification of the car industry is not a solution.
Marchionne completely disappointed electric car enthusiasts by claiming that electrification of vehicles would pollute the planet even more. Because of this claim, he is accused of being on the payroll list of the oil lobby and oil industry.
However, what Marchionne said did not differ much from what was said by US President Donald Trump, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, Carlos Tavares the man behind Renault, Citroen and Peugeot and many others. They all claim that it is necessary to regulate the demand for electric vehicles because their nature is not as Eco friendly as many consider it to be.
The University of Trento awarded Marchionne an honorary Phd in mechatronic engeneering. At the ceremony, Marchionne stated that the process of electrification of vehicles itself caused the emission of harmful gases.
“It was always make-believe that electric cars save anything like the amount of CO2 claimed for them. Before we assume electric vehicles are the ultimate answer, we need to consider cradle-to-grave life cycle,” Marchionne said.
The idea is clear: Most of the energy needed to power an electric vehicle is produced by burning coal in thermal power plants. The increased demand for electric vehicles would dramatically increase the consumption of electrical energy, which would mean burning far more coal and a rise in transmission of harmful gases into the atmosphere.
On this issue, Marchionne aligned with Vladimir Putin, which is an unforgivable sin in the West. Namely, the President of the Russian Federation is convinced that the solution is not in electric but in natural gas engines.
Of course, the production of natural gas is subject to criticism of environmentalists, especially because of methane emissions which are more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon monoxide.
The governments of countries such as India, China, France, UK, and Germany are increasingly considering the ban on conventional engines in the car industry, but of course this will not happen until their car manufacturers can shift to producing electric cars.
Many automotive companies, however, such as Mercedes, BMW and Toyota fully support Marchionne’s stance even though they have entered the electrical powered vehicle race.
What is interesting is that Marchionne has changed his mind in the last few months because in August he announced the complete transition of Fiat to the production of electric vehicles by 2022.
Sergio Marchionne is an Italian-Canadian executive who is currently the Chairman of CNH Industrial, the CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the Chairman and CEO of Ferrari and also Chairman of Maserati.