Despite the crisis and poor mood in the German car industry, Ifo expert Anita Wolf has hope and warns against writing off the sector.
The German car industry is in crisis. The mood is bad, top dog VW is cutting jobs. She would not write off the industry, said economic researcher Anita Wolf, even in view of the "nosedive" in sentiment recently reported by Ifo. "This is not the first crisis that the automotive industry has had to go through," said Wolf, adding that it will not be the last crisis either. In the past, the automotive industry has shown itself to be very resilient and strong in innovation during crises, the expert emphasized. This adaptability has been evident, for example, in dealing with the supply chain difficulties of recent years or in the development of patents for the electric powertrain.
Wolf: "Manufacturers reacted too late"
In principle, Wolf also sees this resilience among suppliers. "My impression is that most of them have adapted relatively well." This is particularly true for those who have adapted to the arrival of the electric motor. However, she also sees the difficulties in the industry: overall, the German automotive industry reacted very late to electromobility, Wolf criticized. In addition, unlike new pure electric suppliers from China, for example, it has the challenge of producing both combustion and electric cars with dual structures. In view of the strong competition, there are also other issues such as changing customer expectations. In China, the most important electric market, it is much more important what a car has to offer in terms of information and entertainment. The Germans are still lagging behind here.
ADAC sees first step in e-car promotion
In addition to these structural problems, the car industry is also suffering from the general global economic trend. This is hitting the export-oriented sector particularly hard. In the monthly industry climate recently published by Ifo, the indicator for export expectations also fell significantly and, at minus 29.6 points, was lower than it has been for a long time. According to the ADAC, the planned promotion of company cars with electric drives is a step in the right direction. The German cabinet had previously initiated corresponding tax benefits. "Around two thirds of new car registrations in Germany are accounted for by commercial owners, who are currently still particularly reluctant to buy or lease purely battery-electric vehicles," says the ADAC. Tax advantages would benefit manufacturers, but also consumers, as the vehicles would be available on the second-hand market after a few years.
