Thursday, 16 July 2026 · EconomyChina's EV offensive pressures Western manufacturers
Chinese electric-car groups such as BYD are pushing rapidly into global markets and pressuring Western manufacturers; the US has so far kept BYD out. In Germany, the weakness shows in the fact that the EV subsidy mainly benefits Tesla and Chinese brands, while VW falls behind.
A commentary by Politico describes China's EV groups as a "pirate ship" steering toward Western automakers: only the US has so far kept market leader BYD at bay, but that will not end well unless the West joins forces. The Berliner Zeitung shows the flip side in Germany: the new EV subsidy was meant to strengthen VW and others, yet so far it is mainly Tesla and Chinese brands that benefit, because German electric cars are bought less often. The liberal European and the independent German views complement each other but emphasize different aspects, the West's strategic pressure to act on the one hand, the concrete consumer decision on the other. Chinese perspectives are absent in these two sources, keeping the account one-sidedly Western. The background is the rapid rise of BYD, which sold around 4.6 million vehicles in 2025, and the EU's additional tariffs on EVs built in China. Whether tariffs and subsidies protect the European manufacturers or merely mask their lag remains contested.
Politico Europe · Berliner Zeitung
Sunday, 12 July 2026 · EconomyVW chief Blume seeks alternatives to plant closures
VW chief Blume seeks alternatives to plant closures
VW group chief Oliver Blume said there were smarter solutions than plant closures for cutting costs. The works council and the union are nonetheless preparing the next escalation stage.
In the battle over tens of thousands of jobs at Volkswagen, group chief Oliver Blume signaled over the weekend that he wanted to avoid plant closures. Speaking to Bild am Sonntag, he said there were smarter solutions, without specifying them, as Welt and Daily Sabah reported. The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes how Blume is becoming publicly isolated and how, in the face of vague hints, both the works council and the union are already preparing the next escalation stage. Daily Sabah places the case in a broader German auto crisis, from which young engineers are also suffering, unable to find a position despite numerous applications. The camps are at odds: management stresses flexibility and alternatives, while the labor side distrusts the unclear savings plans and is gearing up for conflict.
Die Welt · Süddeutsche Zeitung · Daily Sabah
Forecast · Assessment
●Most likely55%
VW and the workers' representatives hammer out a compromise of short-time work, severance packages and investment pledges, without full plant closures but with job cuts.
▲Worst case20%
The talks fail, strikes break out and plant closures come after all, further deepening the German auto crisis and the regional economy.
▼Best case25%
Blume presents a viable restructuring plan that secures sites, cuts costs and defuses the conflict with the workforce.
