Germany’s car industry crisis - this is what may fix it

With the economy a key factor in German elections this month, can the auto sector get back on the road to recovery?

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersGermany's once-mighty car industry is in crisis. What will it take to fix it?2 days agoTheo LeggettInternational business correspondentBBCListen to Theo read this storyFor decades, car-making has been the jewel in Germany's industrial crown, a powerful symbol of the country's famous post-war economic miracle. Its "Big Three" brands, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, have long been praised for their performance, innovation and precision engineering. But today, the German motor industry is struggling. With the faltering economy a key factor in federal elections this month, how can it get back on the road to recovery?

When you arrive by train in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, the first thing you see is the Volkswagen factory. Its huge facade, emblazoned with a giant VW logo and flanked by four tall chimneys, dominates one bank of the canal that runs through the city. The 6.5 sq km (2.5 sq mile) complex sits adjacent to the Autostadt, a kind of theme park devoted to the automobile and to VW, Europe's biggest carmaker. The Volkswagen Arena, a sports stadium, is a short distance away.

Wolfsburg is Germany's answer to mid-20th Century Detroit - not so much a city with a car factory as a factory with a city that has grown up around it. Some 60,000 people from across the region work in the plant, while the town itself has a population of around 125,000. Locals say that even if you don't work in the factory yourself, it's certain many of your friends will, along with half of your class from school.

"Wolfsburg and Volkswagen - it's kind of a synonym," explains Dieter Landenberger, the VW Group's in-house historian, as he looks lovingly at an early model Beetle. It is one of an array of beautifully restored classic cars in the Zeithaus – a huge, glass-fronted museum in the Autostadt dedicated to icons of the motor industry.

"We're proud of the plant," he says. "It is a symbol of that period in the 1950s when Germany had to reinvent itself and rebuild after the war. It was a kind of motor for the German economic miracle."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6pzwj6qq7o

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