E-cars: Bütikofer warns BMW, VW & Co. of China attack - "Have to be careful not to get under the wheels"
Created: 05/19/2022, 08:00 p.m
By: Patricia Huber
Sees the German car manufacturer in danger: Green politician Reinhard Bütikofer.
© Stefan Sauer/dpa
China is becoming a major threat to German manufacturers when it comes to e-cars.
Green Party politician Reinhard Bütikofer warns that the industry must be careful not to gamble away its lead.
Brussels - In the past, climate change was always the main argument for the transformation of combustion cars to e-mobility.
Now there is another: national security.
Russia's dependency on fossil fuels has highlighted the importance of a shift to non-petroleum power generation.
But that is not the only dangerous dependency of the German economy.
German car manufacturers are also in danger.
After all, the industry is heavily dependent on China.
Volkswagen alone makes around 40 percent of its sales in China.
But the Chinese car manufacturers are rapidly catching up with alternative drives, warns Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens), a member of the EU Parliament.
And with Geely, Nio or BYD, big challengers are in the starting blocks.
"In the next two or three years, the attempt by Chinese companies to conquer the European market in the field of e-mobility will pick up speed," said Bütikofer in an interview with
Merkur.de on Wednesday.
E-mobility: Bütikofer warns German car manufacturers about Chinese competition
The German car manufacturers must therefore be careful not to "get under the wheels," explained the chairman of the delegation for relations with China.
In view of the development, Bütikofer warned the German car manufacturers to hurry: The manufacturers must strive to "lead this transformation instead of being dragged through the ring in the nose".
In view of the force and clout of the competition, it is by no means certain that Germany will be able to defend its leading role as a car nation.
China: How the EU would react to an attack on Taiwan
With a view to the conflict between China and Taiwan, Bütikofer warned Beijing of a military attack on the island.
Europe would not answer that with a cold smile and a shrug of the shoulders.
That would be a development of great global importance,” he said.
China regards Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has been fiercely asserting claims to the island.
Many observers fear that China could take action similar to what Russia did in Ukraine.
Beijing is trying to construct the narrative "of historical automatism and persuade people around the world, 'One day we'll grab Taiwan.
It doesn't matter whether they want it or not'”, explained Bütikofer.
For Chinese President Xi Jinping, controlling Taiwan is as ideologically important as Ukraine is for Vladimir Putin.
Xi Jinping should therefore be closely monitoring the situation in Russia and Ukraine at the moment, Bütikofer said.
(ph)
