What was haphazardly announced at the beginning of the year as a “Car Summit at the Chancellery” for Tuesday, January 10th now appears not to be a date on the needs of the car industry, as the government sees it, but a forum titled “Strategic Platform for the Transformation of the Automotive and Mobility Industry”. As can be heard in stakeholder circles, the agenda doesn’t start with economic concerns in the auto industry, falling orders and grim prospects for e-car sales. Instead, the government sets its priorities on the agenda, and climate and environmental protection are at the top. This is obviously followed by the “smart car” points, ie connected and controlled driving, finally “networked mobility” and then the “resilience of supply chains”.
In an interview with ARD at the CES electronics show in Las Vegas on Thursday night, BMW boss Oliver Zipse was still excited about the possibilities of a discussion at the date, which he apparently understood as a car summit. Zipse said: “We welcome the fact that such a meeting is taking place. Next to the chemical industry, the automotive industry is the biggest economic powerhouse in the industry in Germany, and you have to see what we will do in terms of dependence on raw materials. raw materials, competitiveness and also in relation to the competitive advantages that German industry has in international competition today.” The transformation for the future that the industry must create on its own and without the help of the State, said Zipse.The general conditions are very different.
Is the industry on the defensive?
However, looking at the agenda and the list of participants of the “Transformation and Mobility Summit” in the Chancellery, it is quite possible that the automotive industry will not even make its demands, but rather be on the defensive. In addition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Transport Minister Volker Wissing, participants also include Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, automotive critics Agora Verkehrswende, the “Automotive Industry Transformation Expert Group” at the Federal Ministry of Economy and the Alliance for Socially Responsible Mobility.
Therefore, the discussion could go in very different directions. Because environmental organizations and climate advocates complain that the transport sector has failed to meet specified targets for reducing CO2 emissions. So far, the German transport sector has at least managed to keep emissions constant, while strong increases can be seen outside Germany in an international comparison.
The better structural conditions desired by the automotive industry for the reduction of CO2 emissions can only have an indirect effect on the climate and environmental protection agenda items. The automotive industry would like more opportunities for sustainably produced e-fuels, which could also make for greener combustion cars or faster expansion of the charging network. This currently consists of almost 12,000 public fast charging stations for cars, although there are no specific charging stations for trucks yet.
reviews before the event
The auto industry is a minority among the almost 40 participants according to the previous guest list, although represented relatively broadly, with the heads of the five German automakers and truck maker Daimler Truck, as well as the presidents of the respective general councils of workers. In addition to these dozens of industry representatives, there is Hildegard Müller, president of the Association of the German Automobile Industry (VDA), as well as ADAC, representing the interests of motorists.
Representatives of European battery maker Northvolt, which has since questioned its plans for a factory in Schleswig-Holstein, and German chip maker Infineon were invited. On the other hand, the supplier industry, which is currently suffering a lot and is particularly affected by the switch to electric drives, is underrepresented. Only transmission manufacturer ZF and its chairman of the general works council speak for them.
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The list of participants and the definition of themes generated criticism even before the summit. The interest group “Allianz pro Schiene” and various bicycle associations criticized the fact that the meeting was about transforming the mobility economy “on paper”, but almost exclusively representatives of the car industry were invited. “This represents a completely outdated understanding of mobility, which again jeopardizes climate objectives in the transport sector,” the associations stressed in a joint statement. They are asking Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “address traffic recovery as a whole and make it a priority”.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit admitted that the focus on Tuesday was indeed on the car industry, but emphasized that the format was not that of an automotive summit. It’s just the beginning of a whole series that will later also cover rail and other modes of transport.
However, the construction industry also feels left out. Without a massive investment pact in the form of the investment offensive promised in the coalition agreement, neither Deutsche Bahn’s high-performance network nor the expansion of electronic charging infrastructure will work. It is therefore incomprehensible why the building does not play a role in the federal chancellor’s mobility summit, criticized the general manager of the German Construction Industry Association, Tim-Oliver Müller. “Infrastructure is the foundation for the mobility transition, and we are building that transition.”
The group invited by the Chancellery to transform the automotive industry and mobility will apparently meet at regular intervals in the future. No deliberations are expected for the first meeting.