Driving Against Net Zero

From The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

April 28, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

This episode explores the rising defense of petrol cars among populist parties in Europe, focusing on Zwickau's car culture and the impact of Chinese electric vehicles.

Is defence of the petrol car and liberated motoring becoming the new battleground for Europe’s populist parties? Chris Bowlby visits one of the homes of German car culture and a populist stronghold, Zwickau, to see how motoring is rising up the German agenda. Is Zwickau a foretaste of something affecting all of Germany – a car-loving, car-manufacturing powerhouse in the past, now wondering anxiously what the future holds against the emergence of Chinese electric cars. And less than a hundred miles from Zwickau, just across the border in the Czech Republic, a new coalition government has recently taken power, including ministers from a populist party called Motorists for Themselves – muscular defenders of the old petrol car. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

People in this episode

Host: Chris Bowlby

Topics covered

populism
car culture
electric vehicles
German automotive industry
politics
environmental policy

Keywords

petrol car
electric cars
populism
Zwickau
German car culture
Motorists for Themselves
Czech Republic

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Motorists for Themselves

Products: electric cars, petrol car

Places: Zwickau, Czech Republic, Germany