Facing the collapse of their e-mobility pipe dreams, Germany’s automobile producers are opting out of their self-proclaimed, illusionary future: The demand to employ specialists in the research and development departments has dropped by 57% in the January-October 2024 period, as compared to the same period last year. That indicates there will be no more new e-car models designed, as current models are not selling enough to compensate for costs of development and production. For instance, Ford Cologne, which invested $2 billion in the production of its Explorer e-SUV, is currently losing €44,000 for each car, priced at €49,500, sold! They have decided to produce only a few days a week, to cut shifts and introduce short-time work for the coming months.
For a central sector of German industry, which was already expected to lose a third of its 900,000 jobs, due to the switchover to an e-mobility future, the failure of the latter is certain to generate even more layoffs.
