FRANKFURT, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Even as several countries move towards ending the era of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, two German auto-suppliers Bosch and Continental defended the future of combustion engines Thursday.
While reaffirming their electrification strategy at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) 2017, technology company Continental emphasized the importance of innovation and inventiveness over technological specifications and quotas.
"We have some tough targets for CO2 as fleet average. However, we are not quite convinced to push the market in a certain direction through regulation," Oliver Maiwald, senior vice president of Technology & Innovation with Continental, told Xinhua. However, Continental also believes the future of mobility is electrification.
Bosch said combustion engines can be made CO2 neutral, and synthetic fuels can be designed to burn practically soot-free.
Volkmar Denner, chairman of the Bosch board of management, said when it comes to emissions from combustion engines, significant progress can be achieved with synthetic fuels.
"Synthetic fuels can be used with existing filling stations and, most importantly, with currently existing engines. Their positive effect is thus faster than if we completely renew the infrastructure and the vehicle fleet," Denner said.
In July, French Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot announced that France would end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of the country's plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord.
The same month, the British government followed suit with a similar plan eyeing 2040 as a deadline to stop sales of new fossil fuel cars.
