“The future is starting to happen”

Why did you switch to an electric vehicle?

We have a solar power system on the roof of our house. My wife and I were planning to buy an electric car. But after we found out that we can save costs with our photovoltaic system, we decided last year to buy an EV. So far, we haven’t paid anything for charging the car because we use energy from our home system.

What is it like to have an electric vehicle as a daily driver?

For me, it’s an ideal means of transport. I think that electric vehicles will win out. Not only because they’re better for the environment. Electric cars are so much fun to drive! The power is instantly available, acceleration is quiet and emission-free. Everyone should experience the feeling of driving an electric car at least once. E-vehicles require less maintenance than cars with combustion engines. No oil changes, no exhaust system, no spark plugs – you never need to take an EV in to have these things serviced.

How do you charge your car?

It’s easy for me because I can charge my car at home. There are also public charging stations in our area that can be used for free. In Berlin, charging an e-car is kind of hit or miss. I chat with other EV owners on the Internet who say that charging stations in the city are blocked by parked cars or occupied for hours by hybrid vehicles – the older hybrids take a lot longer to charge up.

Would you be interested in having a new Volkswagen ID.3 as your next car?

Definitely! I’m already pre-registered for the first ID.3. More than anything else, I want to be able to travel long distances with my next EV. The ID.3 special edition I pre-ordered has a range of 420 kilometres and only needs to be plugged in for half an hour at a quick-charging station. The older e-vehicles take about two hours to charge. That’s a big difference! The ID.3 also looks really cool. I like the lighting concept – and the way the car’s headlights ‘greet’ the driver. The inside of the ID.3 is futuristic, but I prefer the e-Golf interior.

What do you think needs to happen for electric cars to succeed?

I think it’s good that VW is moving ahead with plans to become carbon-neutral, which includes components and raw materials. I get the feeling that the future is starting to happen now. Mindsets are changing. Recent election results show that climate change and environmental protection are gaining importance in the public eye. Electric cars have to be affordable for more people. And the charging infrastructure needs to be expanded. I still see this as a major problem that politicians will need to tackle.

But the number of publicly accessible charging points for electric vehicles in Germany is growing. There are already 17,500 public charging stations in place. The Volkswagen Group alone is planning to build 36,000 charging points across Europe by 2025.

You switched to e-mobility. What role does sustainability play for you?

Sustainability is becoming more important. I started out by dealing with the photovoltaics aspect. Then I bought an electric car. After that, I gradually started questioning some other things in my daily routine: ‘Do I really have to throw it away? Can I maybe fix that? Do I really need to have the latest-generation smartphone?’ When you take a serious look at eco-sustainability, you start rethinking the way you do things.