German Auto Industry

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
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Weymouth
Predictably the EU and UK auto industry in general is suffering largely due to ill considered Govt policies to force greater production of EVs etc. The German Auto industry seems more impacted than most with the real prospect of factory closures, and it is not just the car manufacturers but the massive auto parts manufacturers that supply them. So in the news recently both Brose and ZF announced cost saving measures and I wonder what that means for their continued investments in the E Bike market. I have seen no similar news reports re Bosch but I suspect that company is similarly impacted.
 

Tooks

Well-known member
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2020
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716
Lincs UK
I’m not convinced that the automotive sector is really all that linked to the e-bike one, and in any case why wouldn’t companies continue to invest in presumably profitable sectors like e-bike motors/batteries where the R&D costs are a tiny fraction of that for cars, whether electric, hybrid or internal combustion.

I think that actually the auto industries are suffering from a general downturn in car buying, there’s a cost of living crisis going on at the end of the day, people for a number of reasons aren’t spending as much cash, or companies either for that matter. The company my wife works for scrapped their company car scheme last year, that’s thousands of cars they won’t be buying this year.

Manufacturers would be having to invest money in developing new automotive models anyway, whether they be electric or otherwise. ’Big Car‘ has been asleep at the wheel for a while, half heartedly planning for the future whilst hoping that everything stays the same, the pigeons are coming home to roost, to mix my analogies…
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,745
5,218
Weymouth
I am more inclined to think the auto industry is not delivering what the market wants either in terms of functionality or value for money......after all there is no evidence of peoples want or need for personal transport declining.
My concern was more about what it all means for the massive auto parts suppliers which includes some of our main motor manufacturers. Their ebike motor divisions/ volumes of business are tiny compared to their core product lines.
 

Tooks

Well-known member
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2020
559
716
Lincs UK
I am more inclined to think the auto industry is not delivering what the market wants either in terms of functionality or value for money......after all there is no evidence of peoples want or need for personal transport declining.
My concern was more about what it all means for the massive auto parts suppliers which includes some of our main motor manufacturers. Their ebike motor divisions/ volumes of business are tiny compared to their core product lines.
Them being a tiny part of it might be a good thing, especially if they’re still turning a profit.

I think with entrants like DJI into the motor market, things are going to get disrupted in the EMTB market as well, those car parts suppliers with e-bike motor divisions had better be on their game.
 

Redlemon

Well-known member
Oct 30, 2021
305
505
Canada
I am more inclined to think the auto industry is not delivering what the market wants either in terms of functionality or value for money......after all there is no evidence of peoples want or need for personal transport declining.
My concern was more about what it all means for the massive auto parts suppliers which includes some of our main motor manufacturers. Their ebike motor divisions/ volumes of business are tiny compared to their core product lines.

I think you're right saying the auto industry is not offering what the market wants especially in North America where cars got so large and expensive, even the Honda Civic got very expensive here.

However we could say the same for a lot of eMTBs as they got very expensive and disposable income is much lower when comparing to pre-covid/covid era.

Is there room for significant growth under these economic circumstances ?
 

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