Electricity prices put European car producers at risk

Dusseldorf The European car industry is threatened with losing its competitiveness due to the drastic increase in energy prices. The strategy consultancy Berylls warns of this in a current study. “An approximation of the differences in the world regions is not to be expected in the medium term either, which makes Europe the clear loser in the development and vehicles from European production are likely to become more expensive,” write the energy experts Alexander Timmer and Stefan Schneeberger in it.

Car manufacturers like Volkswagen take this advice very seriously. VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer also sees the competitiveness of the high energy prices in danger. “I’m deeply concerned,” the manager said recently.

The Berylls experts point out that although energy prices in North America and China have also risen, they have not been nearly as strong. Energy costs made it increasingly difficult to implement new construction projects in Europe. This is shown, for example, by the discussion about the planned battery plant of the Swedish manufacturer Northvolt in Schleswig-Holstein, which has been put on hold due to rising energy prices.