VW CEO Herbert Diess warns German car makers they need to adapt urgently
If you look at the former bastions of the car industry such as Detroit, Oxford-Cowley or Turin, you see what happens to cities when once-powerful firms falter, Diess says
Frankfurt — Germany's car makers only have a 50% chance of surviving as leading players in the vehicle industry unless they transform to meet new regulations and adapt their supply chains, Volkswagen (VW) CEO Herbert Diess said on Tuesday. The need to produce batteries and electric cars, rather than combustion engines, and the emergence of new geopolitical threats, is forcing car makers to accelerate deep-seated reforms that pose an existential threat to some players, he said. "From today's point of view the chances are perhaps 50-50 that the German auto industry will still belong among the global elite in 10 years' time," he said. The push to cut carbon dioxide pollution and nitrogen oxide emissions now amounts to a campaign against individual mobility and against cars, Diess said. "We are all used to the fact that we have flourishing industrial metropolises around the central manufacturing plants of German car makers and their suppliers, places where people like to live and work, ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.