SPIEGEL: Ms Hirschi, you are, to a certain extent, the most well-known car tester in the world, with 16 million people on social media. What do you do better than classic car media?
Alex Hirschi: I see cars from the perspective of a layman. Many experts talk about cars, but not everyone wants to know all the technical details. Most people are only interested in a few things: What does the car look like? What can he and what technical refinements do he have? How does he drive? I make videos that are easy to understand and fun, even if you have no idea about cars. That's why my videos were shared on big auto sites and my followers grew so fast.
SPIEGEL: I notice that cars in your videos often get away too well. Do not you think that influencers like you are often too easy to be too uncritical of manufacturers?
Hirschi: If people want to know what's good or bad about a car, they still stick to classic auto journalists. However, many journals reach only 50,000 people, whereas influencers reach up to 50 million. That's why manufacturers are increasingly turning to influencers. Usually, influencers are more focused on the positive, that's right. We are not car journalists who disassemble the car.
SPIEGEL: Because you depend on access to the cars that the manufacturers provide you with?
Hirschi: That depends on the influencer. I get only five percent of the cars from the manufacturers, the rest provided by people who own such a car. If I do not like something about a car, I say that.
SPIEGEL: Nevertheless, in your videos you almost exclusively talk about the positive aspects. Why?
Hirschi: I show the things that are cool that stand out when you see the car for the first time. At this moment, you only pay attention to the good things. One thinks about the bad side later. In addition, one has only a window of about 30 seconds in the social media, in it I want to make people happy. My content should be fun and not pull people down.
SPIEGEL: Some German YouTubers see things differently and have expressed more political views in recent months, especially on climate policy. Do such topics matter to you?
Hirschi: I live in the Middle East and therefore I do not talk about politics and religion. My profile is about cars and lifestyle and that should stay that way. My business model should not be determined by global political issues.
SPIEGEL: Your videos have sexist comments from men over and over again, would not it be important to talk about this with your followers?
Hirschi: There is a time and a place for everything, but that should not be the topic of my page. In addition, the number of my followers has grown so fast that I mainly have to produce content and have no time for long discussions.
SPIEGEL: Is the car scene outside the internet just as misogynist?
Hirschi: Yes. At the beginning of my career, at every auto event, I entered rooms full of men who often did not even talk to me or shake hands with me.
SPIEGEL: You began your career in Dubai. Does that just happen to you or were you ignored everywhere?
Hirschi: It's similar all over the world, whether in the Middle East or in Germany. That women also participate in such events, for some men, apparently unimaginable. They do not know what to do or say.
SPIEGEL: What helps against it?
Hirschi: By showing up over and over, even if you're the only woman. At some point, these people then accept that women are a normal part of the car world. Being there and talking about cars as a woman on social media is my way of changing this world.
SPIEGEL: Nevertheless, at many car events, some men still take sexist jokes as a matter of course. Is not sexism in the car world still the norm? E
Joshua Sammer / Insight TV
Alex Hirschi in conversation with mobility editor Emil Nefzger
Hirschi: Absolutely. But as bad as it is in part, I am impressed by how many men support me. This group is now in the majority.
SPIEGEL: They drive extremely rare and expensive cars, of which the men who post hate comments among their contributions can only dream.
Hirschi: That's certainly a cause of hatred. Some men think they have a greater right to such a car than a woman. Sometimes users who, according to their profiles, have daughters, comment that I could not have achieved my success without a man or my body. And they do not realize that they pass on this thinking to their daughters. But I show them that a woman can drive any car, just like a man. Neither men nor women know anything about cars from birth, the love we find, regardless of gender.
SPIEGEL: But is not this love for the car something that will die out with electric drives and autonomous driving?
Hirschi: It will change, but not die out. Future generations will grow up with electric cars and will not connect the car with the typical sound we do. But there will always be nicer cars, new gadgets and technologies. People will find other things they love about cars than the sound of roaring engines.
