OEM & Lieferant - Ausgabe 1/2021

65 Germany as a business location must be as good as our companies By Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) The year 2021 will be the turning point for the future of industry in Germany. The decisive question is how the framework conditions can be improved in order to make Germany more competitive internationally. The industrial share of gross value added is just under 23 percent. That is more than in many other industrialized countries. In the USA, for example, it was 18 percent and in the EU 20 percent. It is important to further consolidate and expand this leading position of German industry. The share of the automo- tive industry in the total turnover of German industry is 23 percent. This is backed by 3.5 million cars that were produced in Germany last year. In Germany alone, over 800,000 direct employees are employed in the auto- motive industry. All automotive markets are currently feeling the consequences of Corona. We assume that the second half of 2021 will bring an improve- ment in Germany and Europe if the pandemic can be noticeably contained. The investments in the transformation of the entire industry in the direction of electro- mobility and digitization are being pushed ahead with commitment despite Corona. By the end of 2023, customers will be able to choose from more than 150 dif ferent e-models from German group brands. This doubles the range of models. Our companies will invest around 150 billion euros in future technologies by 2025, of which around 70 billion euros in e-mobility, 55 billion euros in digitization and 25 billion euros in hybridiza- tion. It is an enormous feat. The German group brands are doing well in the electric car markets. This enabled them to expand their market shares in many countries in 2020: in Germany from 57 to 67 percent, in Europe from 36 to 49 percent. We are Euro- pean champions in e-cars, we take climate pro- tection seriously and we stand by the 2050 climate goals. Precisely because these future investments are so important for Germany as a business location, the framework conditions must be improved. German industry, above all the German au- tomotive industry, shoulders the high tax burden with enormous efficiency. However, a functioning environment and a good in- frastructure are also required. In an interna- tional comparison, Germany urgently needs to catch up here. In Germany we have the highest labor costs in the automotive industry worldwide. In terms of labor costs in manufacturing, Germany ranks fourth overall. In an OECD comparison, Germany ranks fifth in terms of the income tax burden. In the World Bank index for entre- preneurship, Germany only ranks 125th. The corona crisis showed a sharp drop in economic growth. The German automotive industry is better equipped for the future than Germany. Pol- iticians should therefore take the necessary steps to maintain and strengthen production and employment in Germany. The big topic in 2021 is therefore Germany as a location: we need a modern industrial policy that is com- mitted to climate protection. Image: © VDA VDA President Hildegard Müller VDA www.vda.de Standort Deutschland muss so gut werden wie unsere Unternehmen Von Hildegard Müller, Präsidentin des Verbandes der Automobilindustrie (VDA) Das Jahr 2021 wird zum Wendepunkt für die Zukunft der Industrie in Deutsch- land. Entscheidend ist dabei vor allem die Frage, wie die Rahmenbedingungen ver- bessert werden können, um den Standort Deutschland international wieder wett- bewerbsfähiger machen. Der Industrieanteil an der Bruttowert- schöpfung beträgt knapp 23 Prozent. Das ist mehr als in vielen anderen Industrie- staaten. In den USA etwa lag er bei 18 Prozent, in der EU bei 20 Prozent. Es gilt, diese führende Position der deutschen Industrie weiter zu festigen und auszu- bauen. Der Anteil der Automobilindustrie am gesamten Umsatz der deutschen In- dustrie beträgt dabei 23 Prozent. Dahinter stehen 3,5 Mio. Pkw, die im letzten Jahr in Deutschland produziert wurden. Allein im Inland sind über 800.000 direkte Mit- arbeiter in der Automobilindustrie be- schäftigt. Derzeit spüren alle Automobilmärkte die Folgen von Corona. Wir gehen davon aus, dass das zweite Halbjahr 2021 in Deutsch- land und Europa eine Besserung bringen wird, wenn die Pandemie spürbar einge- dämmt werden kann… Weiterlesen … https://t1p.de/0qk0 Summary S H A R E Keynote by VDA President Hildegard Müller