Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) brought a clear message to the anniversary celebration of the Hessian car manufacturer Opel: On Saturday he spoke out against sealing off the European car market from competition from abroad. “We are not closing our market to foreign companies, because we don’t want that for our companies either,” said Scholz at the ceremony marking 125 years of car production at the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim. “You will compete fairly, even against new competitors from China,” he added to his audience, including numerous employees of Opel and the parent company Stellantis. However, whether the competition is fair is controversial – the EU Commission is currently investigating the Chinese government’s subsidies for electric car manufacturers there and wants to decide on the imposition of punitive tariffs by July at the latest. However, the large German car manufacturers are against it because they fear Chinese retaliation and thus disadvantages in the sale of their own vehicles in the People’s Republic.Stellantis has a stake in a Chinese manufacturerThe Opel parent company Stellantis sells its vehicles mainly in Europe. Nevertheless, Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares recently spoke out against protective tariffs: They would be a “huge trap” for the countries that imposed them, the Portuguese told the Reuters news agency in an interview. Stellantis acquired a stake in the Chinese manufacturer Leapmotor at the end of 2023 and wants to sell its electric cars in Europe. Scholz praised Stellantis’ electrification strategy. “They are determined to only produce electric vehicles,” he said to Tavares and Opel boss Florian Huettl. This is true because of climate change. “That’s why we’re saying today, one day before the European elections: we stand by the expansion of electric mobility. Anyone who turns this back now not only endangers everything that has been achieved, but also our future as an industrial nation.”Rhein: “Germany’s future does not lie in cargo bikes”Sales of electric cars have been declining in Germany since the federal government abolished the state purchase bonus in December . With regard to the debate about whether the focus on the electric drive was right, Scholz said that not everyone was convinced of the car itself at the start of production in Rüsselsheim – even company founder Adam Opel. “But the sons stuck with it.” In 1899, Fritz and Wilhelm Opel acquired the motor vehicle factory of the Dessau automobile pioneer Friedrich Lutzmann and transplanted it, along with the inventor, to Rüsselsheim. More on the subject The Hessian Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) said: “We in Hesse are very proud of the Opel, of the Opel people and this location.” He also referred to the important role of suppliers in the country: “A total of 45,000 people in Hesse are employed in the car industry.” This will remain important: “Germany’s future does not lie in cargo bikes , Germany is a car country.”Opel boss Florian Huettl announced that construction of a new Stellantis administrative headquarters in Rüsselsheim would begin this year. The project, which has been planned for some time under the name “Green Campus”, is intended to contribute to achieving Stellantis’ climate goals – the group wants to be climate neutral by 2038 at the latest. Around 7,000 solar cells are to be installed on the new office buildings in Rüsselsheim, and heat pumps are also planned for air conditioning, the use of rainwater and the greening of individual components.
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