Germany’s Car States Call for EU Protection

The leaders of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Lower Saxony have called on the federal government and the European Union to accelerate measures to support the automotive industry as it undergoes a “historic transformation”.

The three states, which are home to some of Germany’s biggest automakers and suppliers, warned that the industry faces major challenges from the transition to electric vehicles, digitalization and autonomous driving, high investment and operating costs, geopolitical and trade conflicts and growing international competition. They called for more innovation-friendly regulation and targeted EU measures to protect European manufacturers from unfair competition.

According to their joint statement, the European Commission should expand its investigation into Chinese state subsidies to include plug-in hybrids. The three states also want Brussels to press ahead with legislation aimed at encouraging investment, decarbonization and local production.

The eight-page document calls for lower energy prices and non-wage labor costs, greater investment in infrastructure and less bureaucracy.

The states also want European carbon dioxide emissions rules to become more flexible and technologically neutral. They argue that highly efficient internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and range extenders will still be needed as transitional technologies while electric vehicle adoption develops at different speeds across global markets.

(Reuters, bak)