Will polluting cars be banned from Hungarian streets?

Few inventions have had as profound an impact on the world as the automobile. The emergence of cars revolutionised numerous aspects of our lives. It completely changed traffic and led to the development of better roads. It also created new jobs to supply the demand for automobile parts and fuel. Cars have become the centre of the developed world.  However, pressing problems and dilemmas related to climate change and urban congestion mark a new era.

Currently, the automotive industry is facing a number of challenges. There is a global shortage of semiconductor chips that causes serious disruptions in production and even limits the availability of certain models, writes Telex. Manufacturers have to face the consequences of the strict environmental rules, such as using expensive technologies or fines for exceeding emission quotas. The market also has to adapt to the ever-expanding demand for comfort and safety equipment. Due to these factors,

prices are rising steadily and drastically in both the market for new and used vehicles.

Electric automotive future

As the result of the growing demand for prioritising pollution control and environmental protection and the upcoming Euro 7 emission regulations, the automotive future will most likely be electric. According to BBC, the rising tendency in electric car sales marks one of the biggest revolutions in motoring. Based on the latest forecasts, 20% of all new cars sold globally will be electric by 2025. This number can rise to approximately 40% by 2030 and

it is possible that every new car sold globally will be electric by 2040.

However, electric cars are costly for two main reasons. The batteries require large amounts of raw materials, including lithium, nickel and cobalt, and they can only be produced with expensive manufacturing technology. In Hungary, for example, a new small electric car costs 10 million forints (~EUR 27,532). Nonetheless, forecasters agree that the cost of battery production will be cheaper in the future. Some experts even claim that the difference between the cost of manufacturing electric and conventional cars will disappear over time.

According to Datahouse,

hybrid and electric vehicles accounted for 5% of cars on the roads in Hungary in the first half of 2021. Nonetheless, these cars only make up 1% of domestic vehicles.