this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2025
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cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/66415028

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[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Do you think most people in Germany are homeowners? That most people live outside of cities? Or that all people in cities live in their own homes with easy available charging and photovoltaic solutions?

Also: Could you kindly respond to the question I mentioned in my previous comment? It would be greatly appreciated and show a minimal bit of courtesy.

[–] Melchior@feddit.org 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Did you so far only drive short distance/commute or did you get to ‘enjoy’ the pricing schemes on fast chargers?

So far I never drove long distance in an EV.

Do you think most people in Germany are homeowners?

No, but cars cost a lot of money. So if they are not they should very seriously think about needing a car.

That most people live outside of cities?

Yes. Less then a third of Germans live in cities(over 100k population) the rest lives in towns or rural regions.

Or that all people in cities live in their own homes with easy available charging and photovoltaic solutions?

No, but they live in a German city, which means they do not need a car. In fact the more rural, the more likely they actually have those options.

Do you believe that somebody living in a rented flat in say Darmstadt needs a car? The city has trams and is pretty dense after all. You can buy a decent flat for like 400k€ in Darmstadt, so the 50k€ a good EV would cost you, is half the down payment for a flat and the costs for insurance, taxes and are pretty close to the difference between mortgage payments and renting. Would you recommend somebody to buy the flat or the EV? That is true for most German cities, with different costs for flats though.

The more rural the region, the easier it is to charge at home using solar and the more you actually need a car. I know that there are rural apartment blocks and so forth, but that is not normal. At the same time I actually know a few people living in cities, who own their own home and even more, who have access to a private parking lot, which can be used for home charging. Balcony solar is also a thing.

That is why I posted the statistics above. It shows what actual EV owners actually charger their EVs. That being mostly at home.

[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So far I never drove long distance in an EV. Do so, it'll be an eye-opening experience for you. Also it is hard to miss this strong point of contention in online media.

Do you think most people in Germany are homeowners?

No, but cars cost a lot of money. So if they are not they should very seriously think about needing a car.

Do you really think this assumption of yours is based in reality?

That most people live outside of cities?

Yes. Less then a third of Germans live in cities(over 100k population) the rest lives in towns or rural regions.

It's the other way around though: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/662560/umfrage/urbanisierung-in-deutschland/

Also a City over 100k population is defined as a Großstadt. It's quite weird you try put that as a qualifier to score a win. No idea what you thought to gain by that.

Or that all people in cities live in their own homes with easy available charging and photovoltaic solutions?

No, but they live in a German city, which means they do not need a car.

BS. You don't know that.

Do you believe that somebody living in a rented flat in say Darmstadt needs a car? The city has trams and is pretty dense after all.

Yes, I do. You have absolutely no idea whatsoever on how their situation is. Maybe they need it for commuting, transporting chrildren, visiting relatives, etc. pp.

You can buy a decent flat for like 400k€ in Darmstadt...

If you are single or dink then probably, Families pay >600k€. There's almost nothing on the market, so prices stay shitty.

Also drive through any German city - Do you think that all / a majority of the cars owned by homeowners only?

Would you recommend somebody to buy the flat or the EV?

Note that in 2023 49% of new cars in Germany were financed, the trajectory growing since 2019 - I assume it's well beyond 50% now. Whatever you or I think about that financially or in terms of what it means for our society - it is what it is: People buy cars whether they can afford them or (according to you) need them or not.

who have access to a private parking lot, which can be used for home charging.

And I know a lot people that have a spot in an undergound garage - some have no chance for placing a charge, other have a prohibitive price point attached to it. Others live in an old building, there is no possibility of adding a garage.

Balcony solar is also a thing.

Yep, balcony solar will charge my car I in just a bit over 100 hours, realistically it'll take more than a week. This is assuming I get a spot in front of my own house, which happens like 5 times per year. Grasping at straws, but why?

Look, for some reason you thing you need to 'win' this 'point' and resort to moving goalposts and bad faith points.

I believe we both share the same goal that we want to promote EV usage and possibly even want to get rid of combustion engines? I know I do, especially in cities.

EV acceptance / migration in presently in decline HUK-E-Barometer There are a couple of reasons for that and a big one of those is that public charging is dog shit in Germany. Granted, it's better than 5 or 10 years ago but it is still dog shit. There still being need for more stations and the prices being a hot mess are the biggest problems here.

[–] Melchior@feddit.org 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Also a City over 100k population is defined as a Großstadt. It’s quite weird you try put that as a qualifier to score a win. No idea what you thought to gain by that.

German does not usually make a difference between city and town, but calls both of them Stadt. English has town and city, so I thought I clarify that, so we are not talking about different things.

I believe we both share the same goal that we want to promote EV usage and possibly even want to get rid of combustion engines? I know I do, especially in cities.

That is probably the real difference. I believe cars do not belong in urban settings, but that people should walk, cycle or take public transport. If you want everybody to drive, then you end up with American style suburbs, which are imho horrible. EVs are amazing in a rural setting and there are transitions zones, where cars make sense, but the more urban and the larger the settlement, the less I believe cars should be allowed

Hope that clarifies that.

[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

German does not usually make a difference between city and town, but calls both of them Stadt. (...)

No, it's defined more clearly than in English, we're German after all. Also no definition places a Town (Kleinstadt) anywhere near 100k citizens.

If you want everybody to drive, then you end up with American style suburbs, which are imho horrible.

That is so out of touch with reality in Germany. Our streets are filled with way too many yet there no American style suburbanization happening. You brought up Darmstadt in your earlier reply - look up Loop5 and it's struggles. The city center is doing well and the mall is struggling. If your argument had any merit Germany would already be littered with malls and city centers would be dead.

Sorry but you have absolutely no idea on anything you brought up so far. I believe cities need less cars but no cars is not just a weird absolutism, it's absolute BS. Believe it or not, there are people with other life realities than yours.

[–] Melchior@feddit.org 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That is so out of touch with reality in Germany. Our streets are filled with way too many yet there no American style suburbanization happening. You brought up Darmstadt in your earlier reply - look up Loop5 and it’s struggles. The city center is doing well and the mall is struggling. If your argument had any merit Germany would already be littered with malls and city centers would be dead.

35% of trips in Darmstadt are done with a car, that means 65% are not. Parking is a horrible indicator for that. After all you do not park your tram on the street, after you used it on your way home or place your shoes on the street, after walking home.

Also Germany has a lot of suburbanization happening. It is not quite American style, but it is pretty easy to find parts of cities with nearly exlcusivly single family houses. The street layout is better, they do have some public transport and are denser, but they are nonetheless suburbs. For Darmstadt Wixhausen is a pretty good example of a suburb.

I believe cities need less cars but no cars is not just a weird absolutism, it’s absolute BS. Believe it or not, there are people with other life realities than yours.

That is why I used urban and not city. For Darmstadt for example I would go with Mitte and Bessungen being totally car free. Obviously the federal roads need to be rerouted.

[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

35% of trips in Darmstadt are done with a car, that means 65% are not. Parking is a horrible indicator for that. No, in the snippet you linked it says that in 2018 35% of trips within Darmstadt (length = 1-3km) were done by car. 3 km being walking distance for I think this is quite high. I'm sure however that the current number is lower. For some reason you assume that people living near center never leave it - your attempt at straw manning the Parking into this leads me to assume you're just being disingenuous (again).

Let's still run with it and look at the source of your outdated and ill-interpreted snippet. The current version is covering all cities and the result presentation differs a bit: Ergebnispräsentation SrV 2023. Download the PDF and look at the following slides. slides:

  • 12 - Modal Split (aufkommensbezogen) <- i.e. moste frequently used by type
  • 13 - Modal Split (verkehrsleistungsbezogen) <- i.e. length by type
  • 30 - Antriebsarten der Pkw nach Raumtyp
  • 31 - Comparison of charging options by area type
  • 36 - length of e|bike trips by area type

What you should see looking at these:

  • cars are used for only a third of trips / P
  • cars are used for 57,5% of total length travelled / P
    • this paired with TCO of a car vs. rental cost is one reason for the parking situation we can observe
  • bikes are used for a trip length up to 5km (avg)
  • EV usage, while growing, is not where it needs to be.
  • EV usage in big cities is lower than in small cities (re-read this thread to discover why that is)
  • urban regions have a higher usage and demand for public charging (this, with the point above should hopefully rase some questions )

.

Also Germany has a lot of suburbanization happening. It is not quite American style, but it is pretty easy to find parts of cities with nearly exlcusivly single family houses. The street layout is better, they do have some public transport and are denser, but they are nonetheless suburbs. For Darmstadt Wixhausen is a pretty good example of a suburb.

Honestly, this might be the dumbest thing I have read today. Yes, Wixhausen is one of the suburbs of Darmstadt. In fact most if not all cities on the planet have suburbs. No, they are not all the same and Wixhausen is nothing like US suburbs.

[–] Melchior@feddit.org 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Looks at data once and then needs to you insults to try to win the argument....