Dear reader, dear reader,
In the election campaign, CDU top candidate Friedrich Merz (69) and the car lobby are looking for proximity to each other. Only Merz performed on Tuesday evening at the “New Year’s Summit” of the German Motor Motor Show, a day later he spoke to the guests of the New Year’s reception of the Association of the German Automobile Industry (VDA).
Merz promises to reduce bureaucracy, tax relief and return to economic growth. With regard to the staggering development of electromobility in Germany, the politician said: he was not an opponent of electric cars, but a fan of technology openness and against a ban on combustion. Merz rejects a new purchase bonus for Stromer. From the central association of the vehicle trade, he received a sign with the inscription “Master company Federal Chancellery 2025
“. Election recommendations can not only make Elon Musk (53). These are our topics of the week:
How the Deutsche Bahn disassembles itself.
Why is a new billion gap at Continental.
Why leader Barbara Bergmeier Jaguar leaves.
Topic of the week: How Deutsche Bahn disassembled itself
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All show: Bahn boss Richard Lutz (2nd from right) and Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (2nd B. L.) When reopened by the Riedbahn
Photo: Andreas Arnold/ dpa
Deutsche Bahn seems to have forgotten railways. Silly attempts to cheer up supposed successes-most recently with rail boss Richard Lutz (60) when reopening the Riedbahn-cannot hide it: Nothing works on the train anymore. Unpunctual trains, dilapidated networks, deficit divisions; In “Planning 2025-2027”, the extent of the misery shows on 280 foils. The system is facing the collapse, writes our railway expert Michael Machatschke. The new federal government could use a radical reform – and a new top of the corporate
.
Heads: Barbara Bergmeier ++ Ursula von der Leyen ++ Gernot Döllner ++ Oliver Zipse ++ Katja Garcia Vila
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High visit: Barbara Bergmeier in the JLR factory in Slovakia on the occasion of the fifth birthday
Photo:
Matt Crossick/ Picture Alliance/ Empics
When Barbara Bergmeier (57) competed in Jaguar Land Rover in July 2022, she came as a clean-up: a new strategy for the car business was needed, and the long-time BMW manager should also take care of the sustainability of the supply chain. The British carmaker, who has been owned by the Indian giant Tata, actually follows a radically new strategy two and a half years later. Bergmeier will no longer actively follow whether this is going on; She leaves the group. My colleague Margret Hucko reports, Why did it stay with a short assignment for the cat
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Auto-intensive times are rolling towards EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (66). A “strategic dialogue” of the EU begins on Thursday with the auto industry. For some of the lobbyists, the start of the agenda is likely to be at the top of the agenda to suspend impending CO2 penalty payments this year. But another topic is also simmering more and more: after BYD, Saic, Geely and BMW, Tesla also complains against them Puncture tariffs on imported electric cars from China.
Speaking of Chinese car manufacturers: Last week we reported on mind games at Volkswagen, to offer excess plant capacities in Germany to the competition from China
. The plans are real, which was now officially confirmed by Gernot Döllner (56). “Of course that’s conceivable”, said the Audi boss.
Döllner’s BMW counterpart Oliver Zipse (60) is not only upset about punitive tariffs on imported electric cars from China, and the import regulations for vehicles from the USA are also in the side of a thorn. 10 percent inches are due in Europe, conversely, it is only 2.5 percent. The EU should adjust that, the BMW boss in the “world” demanded. Not only zipse trembles in front of the Trump customs revenge.
The very sudden promotion to the Financial Office at Continental was also followed by quite rapid exit: After only one term, Katja Garcia Vila (52) let her board contract expired to the car supplier in autumn 2024. From July 1st, she can take care of the figures elsewhere: Garcia Vila will be on July 1st CFO of the Munich engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines.
Company: Continental ++ Mobile.de ++ Tesla ++ Lufthansa ++ Stabilus
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Brüchig foundation: Continental’s car division is missing the orders
Photo: Moritz Frankenberg/ Picture Alliance/ dpa
With Continental itself, good news is not in sight. Instead, Automotive board member Philipp von Hirschheydt (50) shocked the participants of a confidential round once again: Conti increasingly jumps off customers. It looks bleak especially in the area of user experience, the business with auto displays and navigation systems. “No orders from the EU” is said in an internal presentation. My colleague Claas Tatje reports about Contis new 20 billion euro hole
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A look at Mobile.de’s balance sheets shows how beautiful the car world can still be. The Berlin used car exchange regularly drives margins around 60 percent. Nevertheless, the signs are on change: since 2023, the financial investors Permira and Blackstone have been in charge. And they obviously want to gild their catch quickly: As early as 2026, the autoplattform is due to the stock exchange. Desired rating? Around 10 billion euros.
Elon Musk (53) can only smile tiredly about such figures, his personal “evaluation”, his assets, currently clearly exceeds the $ 400 billion mark. As an alter ego of US President Donald Trump (78), Musk polarizes more than ever. This already costs its electric car manufacturer Tesla, even in the important business with companies: after Rossmann And Badenova recently decided the Lower Saxony house construction company Viebrockhaus, to refrain from Tesla products.
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr (58) remains on an expansion course despite problems in the core business. The airline takes over for 14 million euros 10 percent of the Latvian airline Airbaltic.
Auto suppliers currently mostly produce horror messages, you only have to look at Conti a few lines. The headline is all the more surprising: “Auto supplier grows”. The damper and drive specialist Stabilus was successful. However, the message does not do without a “but”: the growth of the US industrial service provider Destaco was only possible.
More mobility: winghole and crashed
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Boeing: Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary are trimmed
Photo: Brian Lawless/ PA Wire/ dpa
Boeing makes life difficult for Ryanair. Even more difficult than previously thought. Because Boeing cannot deliver enough aircraft, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary (63) corrected his already reduced forecast on the number of passengers in the coming financial year from 210 million to 206 million further down. Did you already prepare yourself for an O’Learysian tantrum in Arlington?
Probably not, Boeing has completely different problems after all. The winged aircraft manufacturer canceled last week another billion depreciation.
E-truck manufacturer Nikola was once more worth more than Ford on the stock exchange, today the company is only suitable as a scandal noodle. Nikola has deteriorated to the pennystock. In the fight for the existence, the sale of the company is now threatened As the final of a long descent.
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. Likewise, of course, if you have information or suggestions for research. We look forward to your message.
Deep Drive: hesitate instead of streamers
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Photo: Created with Datawrapper/ Manager Magazin
The DAT Report is one of the most extensive surveys of drivers in Germany. In the just completed 51.
it was in detail about the hiring of Germans to electromobility. Only a minority is convinced. A whopping 77 percent of those surveyed stated that they would drive their current car longer and to continue to wait for e-mobility. Perhaps manufacturers and dealers will help a different realization: Anyone who has already gained experience with electric cars looks much more positive at the Stromer.
Number of the week: 6.2
Tesla missed expectations in the fourth quarter of 2024 in sales ($ 25.7 billion) and the result ($ 1.6 billion). The operational margin fell to 6.2 percent in the third quarter after 8.2 percent in the previous year and 10.8 percent. Tesla’s share was hung up for a short time after the balance sheet template, but quickly recovered: with the announcement of the car maker, in the first half of 2025 to bring a cheaper entry -level model onto the street, the wind turned.
Ghost driver of the week
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Almost reunited in Berlin: Ex-finance minister Christian Lindner and Minister of Transport Volker Wissing
Photo: private
The organizers of the vehicle new year summit on Tuesday in Berlin demonstrated at the seating order Humor: In the front row, chairs were reserved for Christian Lindner (46) and Volker Wissing (54). The former FDP party lovers are Spinefeind after the traffic lights off and Wissing’s party exit. Ultimately, it did not happen: When Porsche fan Lindner was applied as a “friend of the five-liter car” (displacement, not consumption), Wissing, who had previously praised himself for supposedly successful Riedbahn and bridge renovations, was already praised Again.
Come through the week well.
Your Christoph Seyerlein
Do you have any wishes, suggestions, information that we should take care of journalistically? You can reach my colleagues in the Mobility and me team at manage.mobility@manager-magazin.de
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