Weak demand for e-cars: Nnegative consequences expected

The current sluggish sales of e-cars also have negative consequences for suppliers in Saxony, according to experts. "If Volkswagen Zwickau builds fewer cars, then the suppliers there can only deliver fewer parts," Dirk Vogel of the industry network AMZ told the German Press Agency. That's why the mood at affected companies is just as bad, he said. It is to be expected that the companies will also have to react with short-time work or job cuts - to what extent is still unclear. Generally it is valid that at each job with automakers again three to four jobs with supplying enterprises hang.

Volkswagen announced not to extend soon expiring contracts of 269 coworkers in Zwickau. The reason given was "the current market situation." Shift operations will also likely have to be adjusted, it said. Concerns are rife that other temporary employees could meet a similar fate. In the factory, about 10,700 people work, including about 2200 with a temporary contract.

The automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer expects without a change in policy that the problems for manufacturers and suppliers will intensify. To avert that, he believes the premium for buying e-cars would have to be paid immediately at previous levels. "We don't need reverse gear in e-mobility, we need full throttle," Dudenhöffer told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. He also warned against possible punitive tariffs on e-cars from China. "That is fatal for the German automotive industry." For them, he said, China is an important sales market and such a move by the EU would provoke backlash.

"We have to create framework conditions so that the vehicles are cheaper to produce," AMZ network manager Vogel said. "And we should think about how the price of energy can be lowered in Germany." Then the vehicles would pay off more for buyers even without a purchase premium and offer them usage advantages.

According to AMZ, there are around 780 suppliers, equipment suppliers and service providers in the automotive industry in Saxony, in addition to five vehicle and engine plants of VW, BMW and Porsche. Accordingly, it has a total of more than 95,000 employees. The current capacity utilization problems at Volkswagen in Zwickau cannot be transferred one-to-one to the local supplier industry, Vogel emphasized. Several companies supply BMW and Porsche in Leipzig, for example. Affected are therefore primarily companies that directly supply the Zwickau VW plant.