Dear reader,
The last federal states have made it into the summer holidays. We are also treating ourselves to a short newsletter break over the next two weeks. Before that, you should put an appointment in your calendar, because we’ll be back with a highlight.
“manage:mobility live” is entering a new round. Moderated by us, on August 21st at 6 p.m., two high-profile experts, Monika Griefahn (69) from the eFuel Alliance and Axel Friedrich (76) from Deutsche Umwelthilfe, will discuss whether the current lull in electric cars is just a temporary phenomenon or whether the combustion engine is actually is celebrating a revival. It’s worth being there, Here you can sign up.
When Polestar went public two years ago, the electric car brand was worth $20 billion, almost as much as its then parent company, Volvo. Not even $1.6 billion remained; Polestar is a penny stock. The hopeful Polestar 3 comes far too late, Volvo has sold a large part of its shares and co-founding father Håkan Samuelsson (73) is stepping down. Will things now also be tight for CEO Thomas Ingenlath (60)? “2025 will be the year of decision,” says a former top manager. The (almost) last hope: main owners Geely and Li Shufu (61). In our analysis you will find out how Polestar wants to become the first global e-premium brand
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Heads: Klaus-Michael Kühne ++ Peter Adrian ++ Carsten Spohr ++ Kelly Ortberg ++ Pamela Fletcher
Things have been going wrong at Continental for months, especially – you were only able to read about it again recently – in the car division
. The core business is slowing down, the board is making savings. How about new products to combat the crisis? Curtain up for “ContiHome”. However, the name does not mean a new software package for car hobbyists, no, Continental is now also making tiny houses. The first hip 30 square meter hut is available for booking on Lake Belauer between Kiel and Lübeck. Conti wants to offer more to campsite operators. Michael Hofmann, head of technology at the Contitech division: “With our material expertise and our courage to break new ground, we will contribute to a great holiday feeling in a small space in the future.” Maybe one or two of our own car enthusiasts will check in on the search a little relaxation.
Deep Drive: Last Hope China
Does anyone still believe that there will really be 15 million electric cars on the road in Germany by 2030? If everything continues as before, it will probably be full 6 million less
be, write Agora Verkehrswende and the Boston Consulting Group. “If you want to achieve climate goals and secure Germany as an automotive location in the long term, you should work for a rapid ramp-up of electromobility with the involvement of Chinese companies,” demands Agora director Christian Hochfeld and criticizes the EU’s punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars. He expects that the government target can only be met with 2.2 million electric vehicles from China.
Kylian Mbappé (25) is now sitting in a German electric car. Real Madrid have just presented their new signing from Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappé also becomes a bit of a brand ambassador for Real’s car outfitter BMW. When it comes to choosing his company car, the Frenchman doesn’t waste his time: The striker chose BMW’s luxury electric car i7 M70
. It costs at least 186,750 euros. Mbappé probably doesn’t care, he reportedly earns around 200,000 euros. During the day, of course. If he doesn’t want his new sleigh to just stand there, the kicker has to invest a fraction of it in a chauffeur. Unlike on the football field, you won’t see Mbappé in the front left of the BMW: the kicker doesn’t have a driver’s license.
Get through the next few weeks well!
Yours, Christoph Seyerlein
Do you have any wishes, suggestions or information that we should take care of journalistically? You can reach my colleagues in the Mobility team and me at manage.mobility@manager-magazin.de
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