BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The further expansion of the market for electric cars on German roads is the subject of a top-level meeting with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) this Monday in Berlin. Representatives of car manufacturers and suppliers, trade unions and works councils will take part in the talks, as government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced on Friday. Representatives from the energy sector, science and environmental associations are also expected to attend. The focus will be on the question of how to achieve the target of 15 million electric cars by 2030 and how to support the further market ramp-up.

The round table, which will also be attended by several ministers, is the second meeting of the "Strategy Platform Transformation of the Automotive and Mobility Industry" following an initial consultation in January. It is important that fully electric vehicles are also competitive and can achieve a market breakthrough, said Hebestreit. The Chancellor also made this clear with regard to range and pricing, for example. The Ministry of Economic Affairs pointed out that the market would of course have to be self-sustaining in the end. State purchase premiums as start-up financing had always been designed to be phased out gradually.

There are currently just over one million pure e-cars registered in Germany

- out of a total of more than 48 million cars. The target of 15 million

electric cars by 2030 is intended to be an important contribution to achieving climate targets in the transport sector./sam/DP/jha