Switzerland aims to reach 50% implementation of electric and hybrid vehicles

Private sector companies in the automotive, electricity and real estate sectors have agreed to back the Swiss government’s plans to accelerate the implementation of all-electric and plug-in hybrid rechargeable vehicles.

The public-private initiative aims to increase the share of green vehicles to 50% by 2025. Currently, 25.5% of the vehicles on Swiss roads are rechargeable electric models.

The consortium is also committed to rapidly increasing the number of public charging stations from 7,150 to 20,000 over the next three years.

In addition, the 59 commercial and public sector entities will consider how best to implement an electric vehicle charging network nationwide at gas stations, homes, workplaces and on the road.

This is the latest step in the government’s “Roadmap for Electric Mobility” plan, which a year earlier reached its first target of having 15% electric vehicles on the road by 2022.

Mobility and electric cars are included in the government’s proposed new environmental law, introduced last December, which aims to halve Switzerland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Under the new law, the government intends to impose a stricter_CO2 emissions limit for vehicles, in line with EU rules, and sanction car importers if they fail to meet the new targets. More than a fifth of the new cars delivered in Switzerland last year were electric or hybrid models.

Despite these efforts, Switzerland’s progress in reducing carbon emissions remains lagging. In 2020,_CO2 emissions from new cars did not reach targets despite the reduction in car journeys that took place during the pandemic.

By the end of 2020, global greenhouse gas emissions fell by 19% compared to 1990 levels, narrowly missing the 20% target despite pandemic closures and an unusually warm winter.

Source: Swiss Info