Germany’s own industry considers that it is drastically losing land in international competition, indicates an evaluation of a German institute.
In a statement released this Monday, the German Institute IFO states that in January, 24% of companies classified their competitiveness compared to countries outside the EU as low and that 21% said that the Competition within the EU is also becoming harder.
Almost no company saw its position improve on worldwide competition, says IFO.
“We never saw a fall like this In international competition in such a short time, ”says Klaus Wohlrabe, IFO’s director of inquiries, adding that“ the challenges for the industry survive in global competition are huge. ”
According to the 2024, BMW sales fell 13% in China, Mercedes-Benz fell 7% and Volkswagen’s-which has China as its largest market-fell 10%.
Segndo Noah Barkin, consultant for Rhodium Group, Germany is very dependent on the Chinese market, which can lead Beijing to “essentially, transforming these premises into a weapon.”
The German Institute also states that the loss of international competitiveness extends to all industry sectorsstressing that the automotive industry, which has been losing ground for about two years, is particularly affected.
The situation also remains tense in Metallurgical and Chemistry Industriesthe institute said, needing beverage manufacturers are relatively stable, with their position in international competition practically stabilized in recent times, according to IFO.
“The new German government urgently needs bureaucracyaccelerate approval procedures and grant fiscal benefits to companies to increase competitiveness again, ”says Wohlrabe, adding that“ specific measures are also necessary to combat the scarcity of qualified workers ”.
“What we need now is decisive reforms to prevent the German industry from being even further in global competition,” concludes Wohlrab.
