Herbert Diess

To see Germany’s future, look at its cars

Herbert Diess

As Germany's new leadership confronts a dual crisis of eroding industrial dominance and overreliance on Chinese trade, the nation faces urgent pressure to modernize its digital infrastructure and accelerate the automotive sector's transition to electromobility. With the car industry representing 18% of GDP and key innovation metrics lagging behind global competitors, experts warn that the traditional engineering-based economic model is insufficient to maintain future viability. The upcoming coalition must navigate diverging political views to foster startup growth and reduce external dependencies, aiming to secure the country's ability to adapt to a rapidly changing geopolitical and technological landscape.