- Germany’s car industry was once recognized around the world for its high-quality, innovative internal combustion engine cars. But things have changed since then.
- The industry is facing a range of issues, from regulation to macroeconomics, China and EVs.
- Issues in the automotive sector may also have spill over effects onto the wider German economy, which has been struggling for some time now.
They’re merely raking in slightly less massive profits compared to last year. They could probably make up for it by simply not paying out massive bonuses for higher ups, but we all know they’ll cut jobs instead unless they get that sweet tax payer money. Greedy scumbags.
Living in LA, you’d think BMW was doing great. There’s an obnoxious asshole in one, endangering the lives of everyone around, everywhere you go!
In Switzerland, Audi is the rich arsehole car. Where I live, they tend to have Geneva plates
I see rich arsehole cars daily. Audi, Lamborghin, Ferarri, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Porche, etc. But 9 times out of 10, when I roll my eyes about someone driving like a piece of shit, or annoyed by their obnoxious exhaust, it’s a BMW
Ah I get what you mean. But by arsehole I mean speeding tailing and cutting people off.
Here BMW is more the drug dealer car lol.
These German carmakers can buy a monthly subscription to me giving a fuck.
So, to condense the article:
German car industry says:
We are having a tough time! We’re thinking of closing our German factories, and ending our “We don’t fire people” Guarantee!
Politicians, please save us by regulating our competitors and exempting us from sales tax on new technologies!
Why?
Because our primary source of money before, was selling in China (40% to 50% of earnings), and now Chinese EVs have taken over both China and the local market! So, with our
shittyexpensive EVs, we can’t compete, and, worst of all, China is buying less from us, so we are losing all that money!Opinion:
German car industry means:
We kept selling to the most vulnerable market and pocketing innovation money, and now we got out-innovated and that market is no longer vulnerable!
Please give us tax-money and regulate our competitors away, otherwise we will make a political stink, and throw workers on the street!
Won’t somebody please think about the car manufacturers?!?
Can’t help but wonder what has been the impact of the support, e.g through subsidies, for automaker industry both nationally and internationally.
We keep on hearing that it’s a huge industry, that it “creates” lots of jobs, that people buy cars from their own country as a form or pride, etc. I bet some of it is true but I also bet the negative impact is not communicated as clearly. Any research on the topic? I imagine it might highlight precisely how the EV transition (which in itself is also problematic due to car usage, battery recycling, etc) has been radically slow down, maybe also public transport usage, CO2 emission, etc. Anyway I’d love to read a paper on the topic.
The “great industrial leaders” heading these companies have been protected and mollycoddled by the German State, especially at the time of the Emissions Scandal (were the only person to get convicted was a lowly Engineer), so they interiorised well the “we’re too big to fail” message and proceeded to go into full-on extractive mode in the full knowledge that no matter what the German and even European taxpayer will pay for saving their mismanaged and bled dry companies.
The result is entirely what invariably happens in such situations.
I read this a few days ago about BMWs having plastic engines now. I plan to avoid.
To be clear to those just reading your comment without clicking through to your reference, the engine is not plastic. The block is still metal, as are the internal parts, but there are a lot of plastic bits all over joining things together (cheaper and perhaps planned obsolescence). Too many parts on the engine being plastic obviously makes for reliability issues (as your link describes).
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