Germany’s carmakers are sliding toward a cliff and risk taking the whole economy with them, if we’re to believe Helmut Becker, the former chief economist at Bayerische Motoren Werke.
Say goodbye to Volkswagen, Porsche and DaimlerChrysler. The future belongs to Japanese, Korean and Chinese carmakers, Becker writes in Ausgebremst: Wie die Autoindustrie Deutschland in die Krise Faehrt (Outmaneuvered: How the Auto Industry Is Driving Germany Into Crisis).
Yes, the title smacks of doom-mongering: Angst sells in Germany, and Becker wouldn’t be the first German to call a glass half empty after someone has taken a sip. Yet the country would be wise to heed this sobering forecast, which Becker backs up with dense statistics and market analysis. I turned the last pages in amazement that the industry is still afloat — let alone that it accounts for one in seven German jobs, directly and indirectly.
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