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VW: German Auto Industry Faces 50:50 Chance of Fading
Germany’s auto industry has a 50% chance of fading from prominence unless it faces up to new regulations and the need to overhaul its supply chains, warns Volkswagen brand CEO Herbert Diess.
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Germany’s auto industry has a 50% chance of fading from prominence unless it faces up to new regulations and the need to overhaul its supply chains, warns Volkswagen brand CEO Herbert Diess.
Diess tells a supplier conference that Europe’s tougher emission rules, which are forcing the industry to electrify future models, could “push some carmakers out of business” if they fail to quickly shift production accordingly.
He warns that BMW, Daimler and VW could exit the list of “global elite” carmakers in 10 years if they fail to step up to the industry’s regulatory-driven transformation to zero-emission vehicles.
Diess acknowledges that electrification will lead to the loss of some 14,000 jobs in Germany alone by 2020, mainly because electric powertrains are simpler and easier to make than traditional piston-powered systems. But he says the industry’s real challenge is to determine how quickly it must implement the resulting structural change and take action accordingly.
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