Hildegard Müller, head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), predicts a massive additional reduction in jobs within the sector. Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” Müller stated that 225,000 jobs are threatened by 2035-a figure approximately 35,000 higher than previously estimated. This heightened prediction comes after an estimated loss of 100,000 jobs between 2019 and 2025 alone. The VDA had originally forecasted a reduction of 190,000 positions over the 2019 to 2035 period. Müller noted that suppliers are particularly vulnerable, as the transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric mobility is causing job losses in this sector.
Müller attributed this negative development to a “severe and enduring location crisis” in both Germany and Europe. She listed ongoing challenges, stating that conditions were worsening due to high taxes and levies, expensive energy costs, high labor wages, and excessive bureaucracy.
To preserve a much larger number of jobs in the German automotive industry, the VDA chief argued that a strategic change within the EU is necessary. Müller proposed that if an increase in the allowance for plug-in hybrids, range extenders, and combustion engines-especially those running on renewable fuels-were permitted starting in 2035, the resulting shift in job structure would be much less severe. This path would still advance the goal of climate-neutral mobility. In the event of such a policy shift, she calculated that only about 75,000 jobs would be lost by 2035. Furthermore, embracing flexibilization and remaining technologically open could save another approximately 50,000 jobs within Germany’s location.
