I have sold almost my entire European sector, I just don't see any potential for the next 5 years. Especially not under a Trump administration. The EU has made itself dependent on the USA, both economically and militarily. This is going to fall on our heads, or is already doing so. The car industry in Germany has failed to catch up with China and is now starting to half-heartedly adapt its car designs to China, which nobody here wants. We haven't been competitive for a long time and that's not going to change any time soon. That's why I'm keeping my hands off Europe and am now looking at the reaction to Trump's first year in office. Something has to happen on the part of the EU, that's for sure!
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@alexschober_ I largely agree with you, but I don't see that the car industry has missed out on China at all. My perception was that the European carmakers have focused very strongly on China - however, the European carmakers are being put in the way by their own EU government, while the Chinese are pushing their car industry massively.
As a result, Chinese cars are now better in terms of price and performance than their European counterparts and they no longer earn anything in Asia. At the same time, traditional German companies such as BMW have now specialized in building rice stoves that neither the Europeans nor the Americans really want.
Just take a look at a BMW 2025 ix3 - the new model is so ugly that a Dacia Duster looks like an S-Class in comparison.
Or take a look at what Jaguar has become. They used to be cars that made you feel like an English lord. The new brand design looks like they're a manufacturer of vapes that some woke student smokes in Berlin Mitte.
The EU's e-car strategy is simply suicide. China is not in a position to build a proper combustion engine with a V8. But China is very capable of building cheap plastic cars and, unlike us, also has rare earths to be a leader in battery technology. That's enough to give a normal person a headache.
As a result, Chinese cars are now better in terms of price and performance than their European counterparts and they no longer earn anything in Asia. At the same time, traditional German companies such as BMW have now specialized in building rice stoves that neither the Europeans nor the Americans really want.
Just take a look at a BMW 2025 ix3 - the new model is so ugly that a Dacia Duster looks like an S-Class in comparison.
Or take a look at what Jaguar has become. They used to be cars that made you feel like an English lord. The new brand design looks like they're a manufacturer of vapes that some woke student smokes in Berlin Mitte.
The EU's e-car strategy is simply suicide. China is not in a position to build a proper combustion engine with a V8. But China is very capable of building cheap plastic cars and, unlike us, also has rare earths to be a leader in battery technology. That's enough to give a normal person a headache.
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•@Soprano I think we've had the same thought, but we've talked past each other a little. I see it the same way as you do with the BMW ix3, for example. The latest models from Germany's former carmaking powers just look like shit. What I actually meant by "failed to catch up with China" was that, as you also mentioned, we have put obstacles in the way of our own car industry. I don't understand why the EU didn't stick with the combustion engine, which has obviously been massively well received. Instead, they are trying to follow the e-car trend in China, but they can't keep up with Chinese prices and are therefore shooting themselves in the foot.
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•@alexschober_ Ah, yes, then we are actually in agreement. I had understood that to mean that VW and Co. supposedly hadn't invested enough in China or something.
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