Dutch bank ING: European car market completely electric by 2035

Dutch bank ING expects that electric driving in Europe will only increase as the main obstacles for switching to electric cars continue to decrease. By 2035 only electric cars will be sold in Europe, according to the bank, RTL Nieuws reports.

A study by the bank showed three main reasons that consumers aren't immediately switching from petrol and diesel cars to electric cars. 40 percent found it too expensive, 28 percent say they can't drive far enough on a fully charged battery, and 20 percent said there are no charging poles in their area.

These obstacles are steadily disappearing. New batteries are being developed that can last longer on a single charge. More and more charging stations and poles are being built across the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. And ING's Economic Bureau expects that by 2024 electric cars will cost exactly the same to drive as petrol and diesel cars in Germany - Europe's largest car market.

According to ING, the biggest obstacle in the way of electric driving is the European automotive industry. The lead that European car makers like BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen built on the car market with their sophisticated engines, will disappear with the switch to electric engines. Electric driving also gives less opportunity to do something different than the competition, according to the bank. This means that car makers will earn less money.

Another risky development for European car manufacturers is that with electric driving, the car battery is increasingly important. And Asia already is already very dominant on that market. China alone produces about half of all Li-on batteries, Japan and South Korea together almost a third. About 10 percent of all batteries are made in North America. Europe only has 3 percent of that market.

Nevertheless, ING expects that European car manufacturers will soon start making the switch. Volvo (Sweden) already announced that from 2019 all its new cars will be fitted with an electric motor, for example. The European Commission's policy to fine car manufacturers who don't reduce emissions in their new models will also push the manufacturers to change.