Germany’s largest club has continued to grow. As ADAC President Christian Reinicke said at the annual general meeting in Bremen at the weekend, the number of members rose by 380,000 last year to 21.8 million. “Most members come to us because of roadside assistance,” said Reinicke. But three quarters of new members took out the more expensive premium membership with additional services.
The annual result is still “a good deal below the previous year because we had more breakdowns,” said board member Oliver Weissenberger. Drivers are keeping their vehicles longer and the fleet is getting older. The number of road patrol missions rose from 3.4 million to over 3.5 million.
This year, the focus of the general meeting, which brought together around 230 delegates from the 18 regional clubs, was “the opportunities and risks of electromobility”. According to a statement, Reinicke criticized the polarizing debate about the possible failure of electromobility. Existing challenges would become fundamental arguments against e-mobility, he said. Instead, people expected problems to be solved. The Presidium considers “e-mobility is currently the only way to operate cars in a climate-neutral manner and to achieve climate goals.” The ADAC advises and has already tested over 150 electric models.
The association is set to phase out combustion engines in new car sales in the EU from 2035. “But it has to remain open to technology,” said Reinicke. Hydrogen, fuel cells or e-fuels should not be ruled out. There is an existing fleet of more than 40 million gasoline and diesel cars in Germany.