VDA President Hildegard Müller regarding Federal Government’s Startup and Scale-up Strategy

"The Federal Government’s startup and scale-up strategy provides important impetus for making Germany more startup-friendly and accelerating the transfer of innovation. The goal is to bring startup ideas in Germany to market even faster—and it is good that the strategy addresses this existing challenge.

The strong focus on financing and growth capital is the right approach. We welcome the fact that the strategy aims to mobilize private capital alongside existing funding programs, as this is precisely where Germany has significant ground to make up compared to other nations and regions of the world.

Planned improvements to registration and approval procedures, along with the strengthening of real-world laboratories, represent good news for all German automotive SMEs. After all, these measures benefit companies of all sizes, not just startups. Simplifying the application process for the research allowance through the integration of AI applications will also make life easier for companies.

In the automotive industry, collaboration between SMEs and startups is a key factor in the sector's transformation. While startups act as rapid drivers of innovation—for instance, in software—SMEs contribute industrial scaling capabilities. It is therefore positive that the startup strategy aims to foster closer cooperation between startups and SMEs, as this collaboration holds immense potential—particularly when it comes to advancing the climate-neutral, digital mobility of the future.

Furthermore, the strategy features important links to Germany’s High-Tech Agenda. This applies, for example, to the F.A.S.T. transfer initiative. Now, the strategy needs to be brought to life."