VDA Statement on Economics Minister’s Auto Summit

"It is good and right that this exchange took place today. A common understanding of the situation is essential. In view of the data, there is no longer any room for interpretation: we are not experiencing a crisis in the automotive industry, we are experiencing a crisis in Germany as a business location.

What is important now? Competitiveness and the attractiveness of the business location must now become the top political priority in Berlin and Brussels. The federal government needs to do more than just combat the symptoms. It needs to take concrete measures to address the causes of the location's lack of international competitiveness. The German automotive industry is competitive, but the German business location is not.

In order to enable a successful ramp-up of climate-neutral mobility, the VDA has developed a 10-point paper with concrete measures.

With a view to the rapid and successful ramp-up of e-mobility, the following is now crucial: electromobility must offer a clear cost advantage in the overall balance. A reduction in the price of charging electricity, e.g. through more competition and technology as well as through a reduction in taxes and duties, is of key importance.

We are convinced that incentive systems without market-distorting price thresholds make a successful contribution to the ramp-up of climate-neutral drives.

So no short-term, market-distorting regulations should be made now. We need sustainable solutions instead of individual flash-in-the-pan solutions. Every measure must be evaluated against whether it offers a clear advantage for e-mobility in the overall balance. The specific design, its accuracy and the effect on the location must therefore be assessed.

In order to regain long-term international location competitiveness, Berlin and Brussels must specifically address the various location factors - from energy prices, bureaucratic burdens, the extent of regulation, wage costs and raw material supplies. Only with courageous, strategic and coordinated decisions planning security can be ensured and consumer confidence gained so that the trend reversal can be achieved."