VDA President Hildegard Müller on today's Industry Conference 2024

"The companies in the German automotive industry are internationally competitive with their products, but Germany as a business location is currently not.

It is therefore now crucial that competitiveness and the attractiveness of the location become the top political priority in Berlin and Brussels. It must be clear that the industry needs more than just treating the symptoms. It needs targeted measures to eliminate the causes of the location's lack of international competitiveness. Berlin and Brussels must specifically tackle the various location factors - including energy prices, bureaucratic burdens, the extent of regulation and the supply of raw materials - and thus strengthen competitiveness.

Especially with regard to geopolitical developments, an economically strong Europe is of central importance: only an economically strong Europe has a significant voice on the world political stage, and only an economically strong Europe has influence on the design of climate targets and other important geopolitical issues."