OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 1/2020

79 Editorial by Elisabeth Klock and Dr. Rudolf Müller Dear readers, It is certainly no easy task these days to make an accurate statement on the future of the German and European automotive industry. On the one hand, there are the advocates of the doomsday theory, who see the automotive industry in the continuity of heavy and steel in- dustry as the result of a profound structural change on the way to late industrial insignificance. This view is promoted by those who declare private transport to be one of the main culprits of climate change and havemade its containment or even abolition a political goal of their faith. However, there are weighty facts that speak against this. In fact, in- dividual transport in urban agglomerations no longer offers any sig- nificant growth potential for classic car manufacturing. In view of congested inner cities, local public transport must have top priority here and the development of intelligent, networked mobility concepts is rightly at the top of the priority list of urban and transport planners in all German and European cities. Nevertheless, despite or perhaps because of the turnaround in trans- port and climate protection, the automotive industry and its suppliers are investing heavily in their future, and therefore in the future of all of us. The challenges of electromobility in particular are being tackledwith determination. The German automotive and supply industry plans to invest around 60 billion euros in electromobility and digitization over the next three years. The product portfolio of German OEMs will then include over 100 new e-models. However, the product strategies of German manufacturers are quite different. While VW is fully committed to battery electric drive, BMW and Daimler are more open to technology and continue to develop ve- hicles with hybrid or hydrogen drives. Which strategywill be successful is ultimately decided by the market and the customer. The supplier in- dustry can only be right. With its broad range of services and products, it covers all drive variants and thus promotes the international compet- itiveness of the German automotive industry. However, to be true, it must be conceded that the automotive and sup- ply industry is operating in an extremely difficult market environment. While the European passenger car market was still able to slightly ex- ceed its previous year’s level in 2019, themarkets in the USA, Japan, India and Russia recorded declines, some of them substantial. China, now the world’s largest automobile market, is developing in a particularly wor- rying manner. In China, the passenger car market volume fell by almost 10 percent – and this is now in its second year. And the first figures for 2020 are not very encouraging, especially against the background of the rampant corona epidemic. The US-Chinese trade dispute - albeit less intense in themeantime - and the unresolved Brexit issues continue to hover over the markets as the sword of Damocles. And the German government does not predict any stimulating prospects in its forecasts – both for the domestic market and for exports. The automotive and supplier industry will have to adjust to a generally uncertain market and economic environment in the coming years. And the structural change will not be without consequences. Profits will no longer bubble up like in the last few fat years. The number of employees is also expected to decline. With its extensive investments in the future, its considerable inno- vative capacity and the know-how of its employees, the German automotive and supplier industry is well positioned for this difficult development phase. And the fact that Tesla, currently the largest manufacturer of electric cars, is building its first foreign production site in Brandenburg is not only a good sign for Germany as a production location, but also and especially for the German automotive supply industry. Wewould like to thank all authors, interviewpartners and our advertis- ing customers for their trusting cooperation. We cordially invite you to join us again in the next issue of our magazine, which will be published in autumn 2020. We wish all our readers a pleasant reading of our magazine with its networking and linking options. Elisabeth Klock Dr. Rudolf Müller OEM&Supplier by VEK Publishing www.oemundlieferant.de