Volkswagen considers closing German factories and laying off employees, unable to fight back from Chinese new energy vehicles?

Volkswagen announced on September 2nd that it is considering closing its factories in Germany and implementing layoffs to cut costs.

Volkswagen announced on September 2nd that it is considering closing its factories in Germany and implementing layoffs to cut costs.

This will be the first time Volkswagen has closed a factory in Germany since its establishment 87 years ago and broken its promise not to lay off employees before 2029. This move is expected to face protests from trade unions.

The CEO of Volkswagen Group stated that the European automotive industry is currently in a very harsh and high-pressure environment, with new competitors gradually entering the market and German manufacturing competitiveness falling further behind.

Over the past five years, Volkswagen's market value has decreased by nearly one-third, making it the worst performing major European car company.

The slow transition to electrification has eliminated the location advantage of the German automotive industry. On the contrary, Chinese electric vehicles are beginning to gain a leading position globally.

In June of this year, Chinese brands registered over 23000 pure electric vehicles in Europe, a month on month increase of 72%, which is twice the industry average.

The market share reached 11.1%, a historic high. Faced with fierce competition from Chinese electric vehicles, Volkswagen is closing its German factory. Who will be the next one?