The oil company Aral has commissioned the study at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt. There were strong opportunities researched based on data from 2010 for a total of four types of gas stations. Here the first part related to a gas station of 2040 in a big city. Those in a 'normal' city, in the countryside and on highways will follow.

It should be noted, however, that in the innovative approaches, the experts from Aral were involved. Compare it to a different vision. VW announced these days to introduce the last car with combustion engine in 2026. Aral tells us for 2040 only 3 percent exclusively electrically powered vehicles in stock.

Differences in forecasts can hardly be bigger. On the one hand, driven by current crises, maybe put too much efford on the electric car, and on the other hand worried about the stock of 2450 gas stations in Germany? Of course, such a rosy future does not flow into cars only equipped with gasoline/Diesel engines (23 percent), but into hybrids (74 percent). So they forecast 48 percent gasoline and 33 percent diesel engines for 2040.

Accordingly, the gas station of the future in the lower area still looks very conventional, although surprisingly in the picture above no petrol pumps are to be seen. In their place are charging pillars stepped, the city petrol station is already growing up to a rest area. On the top left you can pause in the bistro during the loading waiting times. Above office space, very trendy, at times maybe even rentable?

Yes, and then the seemingly inevitable landing sites, this time drones as electric air taxis, maybe even useful if people want to get into or out of the city very quickly. Much more probably seams the station for goods delivery and return at the bottom left. And because chararsing and carpooling together with autonomous driving (25 percent) are strongly favored, makes the huge parking deck sense for such vehicles top right.

Many of the people of 2040 are already born today. So you can probably rely on the forecast of the population then. After that, the number in Germany will fall by 5 million to 77 million compared to 2010 Car ownership will reach its peak in 2020 and then decrease by 1 million per decade. Nevertheless, probably more kilometers will be covered. Women and Seniors will still participate more in driving.

Interesting in the forecasts are the commercial vehicles. Surprisingly, with 13 percent there should be a higher proportion of purely electric vehicles, plus an additional 52 percent hybrid, but also still 22 percent Diesel engines. It should even double the coverde distances compared to 2010. In the city, the personal car ride goes back particularly, while the passenger and especially the material transport still will increase.

Interesting what people think about the gas station of the future. Since the men are probably their time a little ahead, women set on human contacts, coziness and comfort. Whether that is due to the fact that tank customers were asked or subsequently there was made a choice. Nobody of them seems to want to give up gas stations towards charging colomns along the road.

It seems that rather prevails the idea of a meeting point or a (admittedly cozier) train station, because they nearly all seam to think of much more possibilities to choose between rather different transprot systems somehow in the city. Even the idea that shared vehicles should ideally not be located somewhere, but reasonably centrally parked, which will prevail even if the at the moment apparently infinitely large budgets for such once scarce.