According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), there were 793,589 vintage cars in Germany at the beginning of 2023. The collector’s pieces are powered by petrol or diesel depending on the type of combustion engine installed. With the end of combustion engines from 2035, which the EU finally decided at the end of March, these vehicles will lose in importance. Then only combustion cars fueled with climate-friendly synthetic fuels, also known as e-fuels, can be newly registered – and no longer with fossil fuels. Many people are likely to worry about the future of classic cars. Especially since the supply of petrol and diesel will probably decrease due to the ban on combustion engines.
Will there be a shortage of fossil fuels as a result? Prof. Thomas Koch, Head of the Institute for Piston Machines at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and responsible for internal combustion engine issues there, is certain that sales of petrol and diesel will not stop. He explains to the star: “The task is that both petrol engine and diesel engine fuels are within the fuel standards EN 228 and EN 590, which are already in force today.” But can vintage cars fill up with synthetic fuels, which are produced from water and carbon dioxide using electricity from renewable energies? After all, the vehicles and thus usually their engines are at least 30 years old.
If e-fuels of the future meet today’s standards, then the vehicles that are powered by the fuel today can also be used with it in the future, says Koch. This includes the classic cars, which today also run on the fossil fuel. In fact, the world classic car organization FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens) welcomes the EU’s decision to allow the use of e-fuels in vehicles after 2035. “The European e-fuel policy could save historic vehicles,” said a recent press release. And it will make it easier for owners of historic vehicles to switch from fossil fuels.
FIVA member organizations in Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands have actively investigated the use of e-fuels in recent years. “And the results so far indicate that these fuels perform well in both historic and modern vehicles,” the organization wrote. The engine expert Koch also makes it clear: “There are exceptions with very old vehicles, which today also require special additives – for example with a lubricating function. This is already an exception today and will certainly remain so.”
Lars Genild, FIVA Vice-President for Legislation, said: “This EU decision[…] will also help us to keep our automotive heritage on the road without negatively impacting the carbon footprint.” Koch also speaks of a “potential for a measurable improvement through e-fuels”. He also points out that “from an immission point of view, old vehicles make a minor contribution”. After all, the number of vehicles is relatively small. At the beginning of the year, classic cars accounted for a good one percent of all registered motor vehicles in Germany – albeit with an upward trend. The German Environmental Aid (DUH), on the other hand, recently wrote: “Contrary to all promises made by the industry, the environmental damage caused by vehicles with combustion engines cannot be reduced using so-called alternative fuels.” Accordingly, the production of e-fuels is extremely energy-intensive and their use in a combustion engine is highly inefficient. There is disagreement as to whether and to what extent e-fuels are actually climate-friendly.
However, one thing is clear: In order for ships and airplanes, vintage cars and millions of other vehicles in Germany to be able to be refueled with e-fuels, a massive increase in the production of synthetic fuels and a nationwide expansion of the commercial offer are required – and at lower consumer prices than before.
Sources: FIVA, KBA, DUH
