car industry Car manufacturer crisis alarms EU

The difficult situation in the car industry is worrying the European Commission. The situation in the industry is "not rosy" and there is no point in glossing over it, outgoing Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton told Handelsblatt.

The nervousness is great, as can be seen from the current developments in the German automotive industry. The French Commissioner is referring to extensive cost-cutting plans announced by the Volkswagen Group. "I am very concerned about the announcements of plant closures," emphasized Breton.

The aim must be to "preserve and maintain our know-how, our innovative strength and our competitiveness". Breton attributes the crisis to the fact that European manufacturers are failing to convince their customers of the benefits of electromobility.

Whether the switch to electromobility in Europe will be a success depends crucially on the expansion of the charging infrastructure. Breton sees considerable deficits here. "Public charging stations are still heavily concentrated in Germany, France and the Netherlands, which account for almost two thirds of the public charging stations installed in the EU," he explained.

SDA