“Land of ideas? Not even Germany’s most important industry knows where it’s headed”

Asked about the future of Germany’s car industry, politicians “only get frank in confidential off-the-record conversations,” Miriam Meckel writes in an opinion piece for WirtschaftsWoche. “That’s when you see very concerned faces.” Politicians often pretend excessive diesel exhaust emissions and the sluggish development of electric cars “are problems that can be solved in the short term,” but in fact, “Germany has no idea what it wants to stand for in the future.” The auto industry the country’s most important industrial sector, yet apparently fails to grasp the changes it faces. Instead of a “narcissistic” reliance on the strength of the “Made in Germany” brand, government and carmakers must “address this change with speed and determination” and “stop lobbying in Brussels and Washington to preserve the status quo.” 

Read the article in German here.

Find background on the challenges for Germany’s automotive industry in this CLEW dossier.