Downsizing, bankruptcies, model clean-ups, etc. are keywords that shape the present in the automotive industry. By no means a reason to boast about foresight and macroeconomic expertise. A policy driven by ideologies is making itself the undertaker of the once much-praised free market economy. Technological openness, the engine of technical innovation, is being placed on a track that knows only one goal, yet no one really knows about its viability and sustainability.
Do you want to destroy Germany, destroy the automotive industry
As a special unit of the US military at the time pinpointed Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan and eliminated him, documents detailing his further plans were found. It stated almost verbatim: “We can destroy Germany by no longer buying cars from them.” Therefore, no shots had to be fired, no explosives had to detonate. Today, however, it can be stated: There also doesn’t need to be a Bin Laden for that. One’s own policy implements what the Al-Qaeda leader intended to order.
First, clean out your own barn!
Europe’s politicians are making things very easy for themselves at the moment. Instead of questioning their own positions on fundamental points, they are currently taking refuge behind Donald Trump’s car tariffs. In doing so, they forget that they too have been actively intervening in the market for a long time before Trump. Since October 30, 2024, special tariffs have been imposed on the import of Chinese cars in the EU, which vary in height depending on the brand. The range is from effective 27 to 45.3 percent! So who is pointing fingers at others there?
That’s not all: Imposing CO2 emission limits imposes enormous fines on importers if they are exceeded when calculated over the entire fleet – and this is practically unavoidable. We are talking about millions of euros in three-digit figures! Adding to the difficulty is the ever-increasing regulatory frenzy that ties up resources and power.
That energy prices are constantly rising due to a stubborn sanctions policy that has turned out to be a own goal from the start is not making life any easier for the economy and the people. The deindustrialization on the economic side is followed by a loss of purchasing power on the part of consumers. A malevolent cycle, in fact a downward spiral!
Uncertainty hinders progress
That consumers are currently exercising restraint is not surprising. The sales of electric cars are struggling because too many question marks surround this technology: charging infrastructure, overall energy balance, supply security, due taxes, if the once-eliminated fuel tax exemptions and compensations must be replaced, range, raw material dependence, and the pace of a technology that makes progress in short intervals, rendering the car bought today obsolete tomorrow as an “old dud,” whose resale value plummets. The uncertainties and the dictatorial opinions surrounding the issue of mobility are the brakes on a supposed progress, aiming past the reality. Those who do not ask these questions and find valid answers find themselves in dire straits.
