Slovakia's automotive industry is crucial - it accounts for 13% of its GDP and over half of its industrial production, employing hundreds of thousands.
VW is slashing production shifts in Slovakia and its economic stability is being rocked.
What’s going on in the ‘Detroit of Europe?’
#ev #slovakia #auto #vw
VW is slashing production shifts in Slovakia and its economic stability is being rocked.
What’s going on in the ‘Detroit of Europe?’
#ev #slovakia #auto #vw
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In Slovakia, sometimes referred to as the Detroit of Europe, the automotive industry
00:07is a vital engine driving the economy.
00:11Volkswagen is the largest private employer in the country, is the largest corporation
00:16in the country, one of the largest taxpayers in the country.
00:19If something happens in Volkswagen, it has economic consequences for the whole economy.
00:27Volkswagen's recent decision to close three factories in Germany and cut thousands of
00:31jobs has sent shockwaves throughout Europe's car industry.
00:35In Slovakia, where production shifts have been reduced, the move has sparked widespread
00:40concern.
00:41I think it will be the problem of all companies because we have a very big problem that the
00:51electric cars are not sold like everybody thought they would be.
00:57Holicek says the current crisis facing automakers is unprecedented.
01:01While low sales of electric vehicles are partly to blame, he says the real cause lies in the
01:07EU's 2035 deadline to end the sale of new CO2-emitting cars and government's failure
01:14to prepare for the switch.
01:16The problem is the infrastructure, that the countries are not prepared for the infrastructure.
01:23In recent years, European automakers ramped up EV production, anticipating consumer demand
01:29that has not fully materialized.
01:32Experts say new vehicle registrations have dropped by close to 3 million cars per year.
01:39This year, Slovakia led Central Europe in vehicle exports to China, with 78% of those
01:47exports being SUVs made right here at this Volkswagen plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.
01:56This is the country's largest company, employing close to a quarter of a million workers.
02:03For these workers, the stakes are high, with the EU's recent imposition of tariffs on Chinese
02:08EVs and low domestic sale volumes, Slovakia faces huge challenges.
02:14If you look at who is producing cars with big engines, so Germany and Slovakia is producing
02:21cars with big engines, so if the Chinese really want to hit back, so yeah, we will be caught
02:29in the crossfire.
02:30Meanwhile, Slovakia's autoworkers are worried about further shift cuts and trade unions
02:35are calling for solutions.
02:37In a statement to CGTN Europe, Volkswagen Slovakia said, production at our vehicle plants
02:42depends on consumer demand and supply chain conditions, with the goal of optimizing the
02:48economic performance of these locations.
02:52For a country so deeply integrated into the auto industry, the next steps taken by Volkswagen
02:58and other manufacturers will be crucial, meaning an uncertain road ahead for Slovakia.
03:04Pablo Gutierrez, CGTN, Bratislava, Slovakia.