Dear reader,
At the CES in Las Vegas, some automobile manufacturers are trying to show once again that they too can be real digitalos. But the technology trade fair reveals: While the car companies were still among the stars a few years ago, they are now supporting actors. New cockpits, such as those presented by BMW for its New Class, are certainly interesting, but they hardly make people’s eyes wide open. BYD generated a little more buzz with a promotional video for its product Supercar Yangwang 09
, which is said to be able to jump six meters thanks to special suspension. How sensible and safe this is remains to be seen here.
The really big stages in the gaming metropolis now belong to other players, tech companies like Nvidia and Co. The “classic” car industry has to fight for its importance – probably harder than ever in 2025. These are our topics of the week:
Why 2025 will be “anything but a fun car year”.
Which mobility topics will affect us in 2025.
How former autotop managers are raising electric start-ups.
Topic of the week, Part I: What will happen to the automotive industry in 2025
Enlarge image
Au(to) Backe: The next challenges are already waiting for the automotive industry
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / picture alliance / dpa
2024 was a year to forget for Germany’s auto industry. The further the year progressed, the more manufacturers and suppliers announced reduction plans and cost-cutting measures. One would think that 2025 can only get better. However, there is little evidence for this. In an interview, Jürgen Stackmann (63), former Seat boss and VW sales director, looks ahead to stricter emissions regulations in the EU, the return of Donald Trump (78) in the USA (The first car billionaires were already trembling
) or the increasingly tough competition in and from China. Stackmann suspects evil: “2025 will be anything but a fun car year for everyone involved.”
Topic of the week, Part II: What we have in mind in 2025
Enlarge image
Difficult times: German aviation is lagging behind internationally
Photo: Rainer Droese / localpic / IMAGO
Heavy food for the automotive industry. But mobility is much more than just a car. In our editorial team, some colleagues look at everything that concerns us from different perspectives. At the start of 2025, we have collected a list of the topics we will be keeping an eye on this year: Is the German aviation industry getting on the right track? Is the cycling scene emerging from the crisis? And isn’t there one or two glimmers of hope for cars? You can read our expectations here.
Heads: Jana Striezel ++ Gunnar Kilian ++ Imelda Labbé
Enlarge image
Renault manager Jana Striezel worked on cars as a child
Photo:
[M] Stephanie Fuessenich / manager magazine
Cost work is the first civic duty in the automotive industry. The focus is often on purchasing. At Renault, Jana Striezel (47), a German manager, is primarily responsible for getting the most out of the supply chain. My colleague Margret Hucko spoke to the lawyer: Striezel wants her team to achieve “China speed” with a double-digit billion budget
.
While Renault was shaky a few years ago, Europe is now looking at Volkswagen as the biggest car problem child. One of the main players when it comes to implementing the austerity program at Europe’s number one is Gunnar Kilian (50). The HR director now told the “Braunschweiger Zeitung” what contribution management is willing to make. VW’s management team will probably be there by 2030 forgoing a salary of over 300 million euros. Kilian did not say how many managers were affected, nor did he comment in detail on the board’s financial waiver.
Imelda Labbé (57) no longer has to worry about VW’s interests; instead, the Wolfsburg-based company’s former sales manager has recently been lobbying for international car manufacturers in Germany. After a year of forgetting new electric car registrations in this country (-27.4 percent!) she demands new incentives from politicians. Labbé is also addressing the EU: “Penalties would lead to a further restriction of investments in automotive transformation,” she said, referring to the newly tightened fleet targets. “This must be prevented with all our might.”
Company: Tesla ++ Mercedes ++ Volkswagen ++ Lufthansa
Enlarge image
Ready for the next pool party: Tesla’s CO₂ certificates are in demand among the competition
Photo: Adam Gray / REUTERS
Tesla’s start to the year was mixed. For 2024, the car manufacturer had to for the first time in its history report declining sales figures. And in Sweden you have it again Stress with the metal workers’ union. But there is also good news for Elon Musk (53) and Co.: Stellantis, Ford, Toyota, Mazda and Subaru have deposited with the EU, wanting to close a “CO2 pool” with Tesla
. If the stricter emissions regulations in Europe remain in place this year, the brands could buy certificates from Tesla to avoid paying fines to Brussels. In this case, Tesla stands to gain a lot of additional income; UBS analysts, for example, expect an extra billion euros.
Maybe Labbé and Co. will still lobby successfully against the impending penalties. In addition to the manufacturer quintet mentioned, Mercedes is now also preparing for an emergency. The Swabians will not issue potential emissions checks to Tesla. Instead, they have registered a CO2 pool with Geely or the brands Volvo, Polestar and Smart.
The Mercedes Formula 1 team has also entered into a new partnership. Starting next year, Adidas will replace Puma and Tommy Hilfiger the racing overalls of the star pilots.
We stay on the topic of cooperation, but jump from Baden-Württemberg directly to China via a stopover in Lower Saxony. Volkswagen wants to stop the decline there with the help of partners. One of the chosen saviors is said to be XPeng. With the start-up, VW is not only working on new electric models, but also on new ones A common fast charging network is to be created.
Next Monday, Lufthansa wants to finalize the planned takeover of the Italian state airline Ita. But CEO Carsten Spohr (58) doesn’t want to inflate the company. For 2025, around 10,000 new hires are planned worldwide – That is 3,000 fewer positions than last year.
More mobility: battery instead of car, wheel scrap recycling and problem train stations
Enlarge image
Former car manager, now investors: Peter Mertens, Karl-Thomas Neumann and Dieter Zetsche (from left)
Photo: Thomas Pirot, Rainer Droese / localpic / IMAGO, OneD Battery Sciences,
After their careers in the automotive industry, many ex-board members join electric start-ups. Whether it’s former Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche (71), former Conti CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann (63) or ex-Audi chief developer Peter Mertens (63) – the list is long. The development and further processing of batteries seems to be particularly popular. My colleague Anna Driftschröer took a look at some of the activities. It is already clear: Not all investments are successful
.
Several bicycle companies broke their chains shortly after the Corona boom. Sometimes one person’s suffering is another person’s joy: opportunities to take over arise. The Dutech Group is particularly active as a “leftover recycler” in the German two-wheeler scene. She bought up bankrupt companies like Prophete and Onomotion. My colleague Lutz Reiche investigated the question, what drives Asians
.
Only 62.5 percent of all Deutsche Bahn long-distance trains were on time in 2024. The colleagues from SPIEGEL conducted a data analysis to see in which regions ICE and IC are particularly late. My “main station” Würzburg is in the red zone with a punctuality rate of just 55 percent. Yours too?
If you have any questions or suggestions about this newsletter, please feel free to write to us manage.mobility@manager-magazin.de
. Of course, if you have any tips or suggestions for research. We look forward to your message.
Number of the week: 100,183
Enlarge image
Golf standard: In 2024, the VW Golf was again the most popular car among Germans
Photo: Volkswagen AG
The Germans and the Golf: (almost) no leaf fits between these two. Volkswagen’s compact car was once again the best-selling car in this country in 2024. At 100,183, it was admitted significantly more often than in the previous three years. However, the VW Golf is now a long way from its former level: in 2015 it sold 270,952 units in Germany. And otherwise? Seven of the ten car bestsellers in 2024 came from the Volkswagen Group, flanked by two Opel models and a BMW. The electric lull was also evident in this ranking; Tesla, still in 8th place with the Model Y in 2023, clearly missed the top ten last year.
Deep Drive: When will the ruble roll with robotaxis?
Colleague Jonas Rest dedicated his part to our outlook for 2025 to robotaxis. There is much to suggest that the development of this sector will progress rapidly. Also on the cost side. One McKinsey analysis
According to the provider, a mile driven per robotaxi currently costs $8.18. But the future seems bright: If utilization increases, Waymo and Co. improve their processes and research and development costs fall as expected, the cost per mile could fall to $1.32 by 2035.
Ghost driver of the week
Enlarge image
Photo: manager magazine
“Ghost driver” is not entirely accurate this week: anyone who commutes by car in big cities is often happy if he or she can drive at all. Commuters will lose the most time in traffic jams in 2024, according to data analysts at Inrix
in Istanbul with an incredible 105 hours. New York, Chicago (102 each) and London (101) also broke the 100-hour mark. In comparison, drivers in Germany get off lightly: Düsseldorf set the national negative record with 60 hours in a traffic jam. The average value in 73 cities examined in this country was 43 hours in 2024 – three more than a year earlier. According to analysts, this cost the national economy 3.6 billion euros. The “car-friendly” city has long since reached its limits.
Have a good week.
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
.
You can also find our newsletter “manage:mobility”. here on our website.