The extreme right seem to be winning ground in Germany, and last night I was reading some disturbing news about Volkswagen…Apparently the rush to create electric vehicles is proving difficult to out do the Chinese. The change from Combustion engines to EV’s is costing too much with having to re-tool in such a short space of time.
It’s taken the motor industry over a hundred years to evolve into the massive production model we see today, are the net zero wally’s expecting too much, too soon?
They’ve already made a complete shambles of trying to provide ‘sustainable energy’… 
The EU might be short of another major member before long…
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Dont mention ze vor
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The rise of the AfD seems to be a phenomena of the old East Germany. In part this might be a frustration that the growth of wealth in the east has not matched the prosperity in the west. Kind of a German north/south divide. The party also have leveraged the fear and suspicions of recent migration (note - all European countries are struggling with this). But in terms of foreign policies and its views on the EU - these are best described as developing. AfD is very right wing in its views but that is not the same as it wanting to exit the EU.
The problems at VW are also complex and not just to do with its investment in electric vehicles. Remember the diesel fuel consumption lies that cost VW $15bn? The principle EV problems at VW seem to have been the underpinning software. This continues to be a major issue and has impacted the release of new models. It is interesting to also note that production problems in existing internal combustion cars have created quality and reliability problems. So that 100 years of developing mass production has not led to perfection, even for traditional vehicles.
I’d suggest that VW has been fat and complacent for years. That was ok when it was simply churning out another version of the Golf, but faced with a challenge more complex then its management has failed.
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Possibly, but we have to remember that VAG has over 100 facilities spread across 27 countries, so they probably think that they are invincible. It has come a long way since 1937 Berlin and is now topping its largest market in China.
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I’ve read that VW was doing well in China, it was 40% of their sales. But the rise of EV has created a shift to local car firms and the goose ain’t laying those golden eggs anymore. But I suspect that you are so very correct on their invincible mindset. I’ve heard some tawdry stories about VAG exec behaviour at major car shows. If the execs are focused on their private jets and their private entertainments then they are not focused on sorting their business.
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I had forgotten about the vast amounts VW had to pay out due to the emissions fraud, and I take your point about the challenge coming from China and the production of EV’s. The possible collapse or difficulties faced by a giant company like VW is rarely down to one thing alone, but a domino effect.
In order for AfD to become a major player is mainly because the present government is not doing it’s job properly and people are becoming disillusioned with the present incumbents.
Same thing happens in the UK, Labour have only gained a win at the last election because the tories did a poor job during covid, but I bet most people wouldn’t have been so quick to support labour had they known the mess that Keir Starmer was going to make.
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Yes, VW is in crisis mode with a lot of jobs being at stake and this is to a large extent home-made because the Wolfsburgers have stubbornly stuck far too long to manufacturing high-end combustion-engine cars that offer a larger profit margin than what China is invading the European market with: smaller, more affordable EVs for the masses. Neoliberal thinking with its emphasis on shareholder value forces companies to take a short-term perspective resulting in decisions that may line shareholders’ pockets but is counterproductive to a sustainable development of the company with an attractive portfolio. Add to that the notorious arrogance and complacency from upper management (e.g. Dieselgate) down to car dealers, and you will find the two main reasons for the company’s current troubles. VW’s company culture focussing on the “fun” of (fast) driving and ever more powerful engines in large SUVs runs counter to the real needs of the market. They just didn’t want to see the signs of the times and now seem to have missed the boat.
VW: “And that has nothing to do with our products or poor sales performance. The market simply is no longer there,” he said.
Not true. The market is there. People are unsure and just hesitating to buy a new car because a) they don’t know what drive system to go for since the development is said to be “technology-open” and b) once they have made up their mind they realise that there aren’t affordable cars with a long-enough cruising range nor a hassle-free charging infrastructure.
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RE: AfD
“But why are they so popular, I ask?”
“That’s a good question,” says Katrin. “That’s what I ask myself all the time.”
Very odd that she allegedly doesn’t know why the AfD has been on the increase nationwide and why the eastern part has always been their stronghold. It has to do with the modernisation process that was particularly far-reaching in the east since it coincided with the transformation of the ex-communist society leading to massive structural changes: working conditions were changing, entire sectors of the economy were dissolving, traditional ties (for example to the family or to institutions such as trade unions, political parties, churches, etc.) were loosening. Modernization not only produces objective “modernization losers” who live permanently in unemployment and/or poverty but also leaves a mark on all those who are not directly affected but merely fear their own social decline, and that’s by far the majority.
Although, as this Katrin says, “life, actually, is relatively good for people in the community”, these people make up a high proportion of the electorate of right-wing populist parties. So it is, above all, subjective deprivation, i.e. the fear of social decline, coupled with the feeling of being politically powerless and unrepresented by the established parties and politicians, that makes certain groups in society receptive to populist messages. Most East Germans of that age group shown in the text grew up in a closed society, were not allowed to travel and, thus, had never had an experience of foreignness. The migration problem falls on fertile ground. Ingolf’s sentence: “We don’t want that here in Germany.” may also apply to migration as well as to cultural change through which previously prevailing values and traditional concepts of order are being displaced by a new variety of lifestyles and post-materialistic value orientations . The whole process of transformation is just happening too fast for them.
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Hm, I can see no invasion, at least not in Germany. The statistics claim that chinese BEV have gone up from 9% (2023) to 28% (2024) in Europe. Still I have seen very few chinese BEVs here yet.
Media reported recently that sales of BEV have dropped by 47% and that the main reason for this decline is the price (and not the range/technology).
I just checked, the cheapest BYD BEV (“Dolphin”) in Germany costs 32.990 EUR. That is not an affordable car for the masses in my opinion. Maybe that is why there is no chinese BEV invasion in Europe yet?
It depends on what you have in mind, the immediate present or a longer process. My post referred to China’s increasing efforts that became noticeable some time ago, which Musk was still mocking at and VW didn’t see as a threat but just as normal competition, but which continue and are very likely to cause them a real headache. Both have changed their minds meanwhile.
I ,personally, haven’t seen too many Chinese cars either but is that anything to go by? I doubt it. Car dealers, too, assume that Chinese cars are going to shake up the German car market. Today, VW, business insiders, and Musk agree that “China is going to be the biggest threat to European car makers” As you are saying, it’s “not yet” the case but concerns are about the future.
In April Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten was using the wording “EVs made by BYD threaten to flood [sic] the European market.” What VW and Elon Musk are being particularly alarmed at are China’s plans to erect another three transplants in Europe. As a result, China’s market share is expected to rise from less than ten percent to about 20 percent.(NDR,2/2024) . Your figure is higher.
Purchase intentions are influenced by a variety of factors that are weighed up differently. I didn’t single out the range and drive system as the main reasons for declining sales but listed a bundle of reasons why customers are unsettled. Clearly, the discontinuation of state subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, which affects Chinese cars,too, was a major blow to many potential buyers in Germany who are known to be price-sensitive and which I addressed by saying “no affordable cars”. I agree, 33,000€ for a Dolphin is not an affordable price but 37,000€ for a ID.3 is even less so. Although almost all car makers have reacted with a combination of promotion prices and discounts it remains to be seen how the EV market develops in view of the accompanying costs that e-mobility entails and the price to by paid by VW and its employees.
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Thank you for taking the effort to write a long reply.
My intention was solely to respond to your claim that China is flooding the Eupean market with cheap BEVs. We agree that this may or will probably happen but it has not yet happened.