create rules they decide voluntary measures are enough. the former environment minister defends the decision. is this a vulture commitment aimed at a reasonable goal is not bad simply because it's voluntary the question is if that goal will be achieved and if it is there is no need to bring out the most talk just tools of persuasion and. it quickly becomes clear that the industry is falling far short of its c o 2 reduction targets. the car industry the car sector in europe for example is one of the biggest contributors to c o 2 emissions so we have to go foster and the car industry has to go faster but instead of preparing on time investing and rolling out technology they prioritized profits in the good he is the us where they didn't have any regulations to meet. meanwhile the issue of climate change grows more serious every year in 2007 until

america now chancellor of germany speaks out in favor of ambitious e.u. climate targets but in 2013 when political groups in the european parliament agree to drastic cuts in c o 2 emissions from passenger cars medical intervenes to. the car industry in germany some of the larger manufacturers were not happy with the agreement so market came to brussels with a mission to weaken and adjust the regulation to the needs of the text of the new law has already been approved by member states the vote should be a mere formality. unio policy going over is there when at the last minute the plan is stopped in its tracks to all be called up by the council to say we're very sorry but they groom and no longer hold we have to renegotiate and there was an open for oil in the room members of parliament was saying but this is unprecedented we just a greek you gave us your word so there was a real scandal in. european decision making. after tough negotiations

a compromise is reached car manufacturers can count especially fuel efficient vehicles several times toward their overall balance using so-called super credits the strict limits have been eased on the america is pleased with her success as a company that's why the term super credit has a meaning if i may add. this in a tradition and we're a country where cars are manufactured and that's not the case in all e.u. states and you can see from the votes at the european level now that there are different approaches based on how each industry ashamed but the idea that we are somehow putting on the brakes is wrong. protecting the interests of one's own industry is a legitimate political goal but has it gone too far in germany in 2015 the u.s. environmental protection agency discovers illegal software in v.w.

diesel cars the software manipulates data related to the emissions of nitrogen oxides which are especially hazardous to health it's the biggest fraud scandal in germany's recent economic history and all the major manufacturers are implicated in the auto industry apparently feels very secure in germany the government hardly intervenes and always shields them from consequences so that creates the breeding ground for something like the invasion scare. the diesel scandal plunges the auto industry into crisis and prompts environmental protests. if i'm extremely angry before. halting waves of algae from. prosecutors are investigating in the diesel scandal prosecutors say there is danger of collusion. a turning point for the entire industry. journalist and consultant don don lemon has been covering the automobile. industry for many years. yes and people just we don't forget

not only the german government but all of us the taxpayers fund research in the automotive industry that would if you gave a lot of money was invested in the development of hydrogen fuel and electro mobility over the last 10 years and nothing came of it so politicians got angry. they felt they were duped. but politicians also shoulder some blame the german car industry slept through important innovations being made elsewhere in the world for years economic interests were prioritized over the environment and public health it's a high price to pay road traffic today accounts for about one 5th of all c o 2 emissions in germany to me for the federal government has never been interested in sustainable mobility. car summits were not a place where that was celebrated its instead it was about safeguarding what already existed. what kind of industrial policy can reconcile the needs of the

environment and the economy it's a question that's of existential importance for a place like stuttgart. the city's former green party mayor fritz kuhn has unique insight into the conflict between these interests. how do you. really the government's job is to determine emissions limits to nitrogen oxides and so on. and the automotive industry job on the economic side is to provide the best vehicle hits on time. but the best doesn't just mean the fastest and biggest it also means environmentally friendly vehicles. for decades made in germany stood for innovative manufacturing. put more than 5 years after the diesel scandal the transport ministry is reviewing its policies with a critical. since opportunities for innovation have been missed sometimes by

politicians but also by car makers often house now it's up to them to bring these innovative vehicles to market so that. the i.a.e.a. international motor show september 29th team the automotive industries message is clear car companies are turning over a new leaf folks bargain plans to switch entirely to battery powered vehicles by 2040 dimer and b.m.w. are also focusing on battery powered vehicles but they promise to develop other driving technologies as well but change takes time dimer estimates that its fleet of new passenger cars will not be completely c o 2 neutral for another 2 decades this thing that may sound like a long time but in fact it's only 3 product life cycles of feeding and it's not much time when you consider what a huge transformation it is for us just. how many have long since lost confidence

in the car companies outside the halls of the i.a.e.a. 25000 people demonstrate for change they want a mobility revolution that cuts out fossil fuels and the influence of big corporations. the diesel scandal costs are comic product the call in a completely different place would have less of this intensified people's awareness of environmental issues like the guy who is climate change things it's not a job that has to be taken seriously the one day we'll look back on this period and understand it was a time of epical change because. amid this transformation disturbing news about a new virus in china starts to circulate. we now have a name for the disease it is called lead 19 and i will spell it c. . all v. a d.

hyphen one night. but it will still take time to understand just how hard this virus will hit more on why had in stuttgart in february 2020 the threat is not yet felt at demarc management and the engineers are working hard to make up for lost time. c.e.o. or local ania's is steering the company through a difficult time to. do is to tell us what sort of for me the transformation of the auto industry is causing a lot of internal up evil which affects our company to a norm of the day we're investing huge amounts in electro mobility digital technologies new business models or lawyer shifts at the same time in order to be able to finance these new investments we have to significantly improve our cost efficiency and if you not see on sokoto. the company plans to invest more than 10000000000 euros in the development of new vehicles. but di miller is still

struggling with the fallout from the diesel scandal litigation costs fines penalties product recalls all these go on the balance sheet in the negative column . in order to be as cost efficient as possible cuts are made to personnel. and we've outlined a plan and set clear targets for not cutting with a lawnmower as it were spreading cuts intelligently in different areas in our goal by the end of 2022 is to save 1400000000 and personnel costs us all costs of course . 1.4000000000 euros even before the pandemic as many as 15000 jobs are at stake. and major suppliers also want to cut thousands of jobs past mistakes are taking their toll on. the dog show it will be in history for many years. the german automotive industry did not take the environmental

movement seriously enough ties be they have their quarterly reports on the stock exchange stick but they were not sustainable in an ecological sense vons now that's coming back to bite them because the electric car that people always talk about isn't really here yet. in fact the race for new driving technologies is taking place primarily outside germany in china subsidies and purchase premiums drive technical innovation. in 2016 the chinese government makes a decision with far reaching implications sina china wants to force or to make is to make a production quotas a. failure to comply i could result in heavy penalties this puts pressure on german manufacturers for them china is the most important market nearly one in 3 cars is sold there. the germans were once the industry's pioneers now they

find themselves on the sidelines other players are making the rules. in the key who roams the world markets like china and china has made a clear decision in favor of electric mobility. if we don't china and if we keep doing the same old stuff we'll wake up in a world what germany is no longer an industrialized country. china is on the rise just days before the coronavirus brings the country to a standstill people here are confident. nearly 500 electric car manufacturers are registered in china in 2019. 1 of them is neo in hoofing. thousands of electric vehicles roll off the assembly line here every month the automaker is building s.u.v.s with a premium market the. goals designed to compete with dimer and b.m.w.

so how to comfy the with this tradition though yes we swallow 100 years of history we have a commit a lot so battery car is still is a little bit less complicated from pedal was there or you'll like that it gave us a chance. so you see what is coming from that tunnel on the 2nd a platform. victor grew his production at neo he says the company's success would have been impossible without political support. they are supporting on build up the charges station because these charges station you actually use the one of the key factor will cost them or to choose between the traditional know all your car or badly. victor cruz says china's targeted

promotion of electro mobility could be decisive in the end. german friends should think about when it will focus on that otherwise china will verify just. that that's the way i feel. by 2017 china already has 190000 public immobility charging stations in germany at the same time there are just 9500. the fact that alternative driving systems have been ignored for so long in the birthplace of the automobile frustrates even some german developers china welcomes them with open arms. former b.m.w. executive daniel keshet co-founded his own car brand in 2017 bitin electric vehicles for the premium class.

i think germany has spent a long time trying to cause a flood and that's the question but do you see change is a threat or an opportunity it was a start all we of course see a huge opportunity in this kind of charges if we can basically start from scratch with a blank sheet as an i.p.o. . the pioneering spirit full of optimism the former giants of the industry have some catching up to do. vinci truants and if you're leaving with making good money and a successful car and then you don't feel any pressure going on for if i remember myself cops were 345 years ago we were in absolute to nadal electrum ability with moscow productive i think people have gotten a bit too comfortable with their own success we've had of them i can afford. danielle care should believes the future of electro mobility is here in china.

this is due in large part to chinese industry policies. thus they are cute of them and we've built this clown's here in 18 months you know because i like to say that the chinese speak with a lot of support from the local government and see these affairs as simply a determination hit to drive this change forward quickly and speed is crucial because the competition is face book if you really want to seize an opportunity you have to be fast as fit and you have to get ensuring the short window of time and carve out the sponson you know. in january just before the coronavirus knock down 340 robots stand ready and waiting for their 1st shift some 300000 vehicles are expected to roll off the production line here each year german engineering made in china she not an easy or good as a planet has introduced a very good subsidy policy but what you're showing always looks pretty much what the at. sure working conditions or like it's especially at the level of the

suppliers is another thing altogether i'm going to put believes it's in the sleepily to get an interest rate policy that is ruthless that does not take social cultural aspects into consideration of the that's why i'd never consider it a model that is transferable or even worth striving for is the street i'm stephen smith. china's communist leadership is pushing ahead they want change not compromise. the german government also says it wants to put e-commerce on its wrote the goal 1000000 by 2020 not even a 3rd of this was achieved. the political politics certainly has a major influence because we set the conditions and the manufacturers have to implement them but in the end it all depends on the customer so what customers don't accept change it will be difficult and that she really feels. demand for electric cars in germany falls far short of expectations is that the customers

fault. there could be kind of a customer always has a say that's always true as the customer i'm actually a little bit the kanga because i can actually steer the industry in lengths i don't agree with the industry's point that the customer is the chooser uses that use as as they say so i would say if the kind this tree put the same marketing power they do today on s.u.v.s towards clean 0 emission vehicles their sales would also be. in the e.u. the pressure is growing on auto makers to start driving change. the diesel scandal weakened these companies position those who fail to comply with emission limits in the future will face costly penalties. the car lobby nonetheless continues its efforts to influence political decisions in favor of the internal combustion engine. karim adelie is a french green party politician and

a member of the european parliament she chairs a committee on transport and tourism. when implementing stricter environmental regulations she often encounters pushback from the auto industry a favorite tactic of car lobbyists using exemptions to circumvent emissions limits that are already in place that was the case in january 2028 when the emissions limits for nitrogen oxides was discussed at this committee meeting you know up at me on plastic you know europe implement your a 6 standard in 2007 but thanks to the diesel scandal we discovered that in fact the euro is 6 standard was not being met by car manufacturer would be. in 2017 the e.u. introduces more realistic emissions tests this is a problem for german auto manufacturers whose vehicles cannot pass muster when tested fairly. you have to make up in this case

a cut from claiborne immediately turned to his government contacts at emails he called the chancellor's office and he said this is not the way to go it's too fast for us we need different limits he essential they put the brakes on and even alex changes have since become public which show how the chancellor's office reacted what set it on october but that was in october 2015 when they simply said you don't know how to meet the standards send it back to worry you can exceed them by 110 percent until 2020 and then by 50 percent after 2020 cycles. karim adelie wants to get rid of the exemption. 7 you know on european standards are very ambitious but if you look at the standards in the u.s. and in japan they are actually twice the strict disaster especially for nitrogen oxide emissions no more than say. 100000 chemical death in your refugee it's

a nitrogen oxide emissions most immature that. nonetheless in summer 2020 it looks like the exemption for excessively high nitrogen oxide emissions will remain in place a short term victory for the industry. b. you plans further restrictions on pollutant emission is. to meet the 2030 limits sales of e-commerce will have to increase more than 10 fold. then without warning covert 19 strikes sending the auto industry into turmoil and threatening its very existence for. the near global shutdown plunges the world economy into its worst crisis since world war 2 males have slumped assembly lines are at a standstill the outlook is forced. germany's automakers

are hit full force. this boat what happened was incredibly serious all the existing problems with the industry's transformation were again laced but we're now realizing we're in one of the deepest crises that i've personally experience of has been something we've never seen in germany and never had to face in the auto industry. in china the pandemic is also hitting pioneers of emo billet. was considered one of the most promising electric car startups in the summer of 2020 it's financing dries up the company lays off almost all of its employees. whether or not cars will ever roll off the production line here in nanjing is an open question germany's automakers turned to politicians for help millions of jobs are at stake. the sepoy need help. right

that puts people back to work but we'd be pleased that politicians would consider the idea of providing incentives for consumers who are glad to choose what. the industry receives backing from the premier's of germany's automotive states but more than 60 percent of germans reject the idea of subsidizing the purchase of a new car environmental groups call for a fundamental change in transport policy a change in attitude that's felt even in the halls of the federal government in june 2020 the german government decides on a coronavirus stimulus program without the auto industry's import and with it this is a price. we couldn't simply quit together an economic stimulus package which is what is classically done it has to be a package that looks towards the future aspect but you know it's. going against the car lobbies wishes the package includes no generous subsidies for the purchase of diesel and gasoline engines. for the auto or the automotive industry it was really

quite a blow and i don't think they expected it of a power i think this is the most visible sign that something is changing in the relationship between politics and cars and political culture what impact will this have on germany's car industry romances those back or fears those calling for change will be left in the lurch and since it's my nicholas's lloyd my biggest concern about the because of the economic pressures in risks facing these companies 3 months of the whole issue of alternative solutions my stall again does i'm afraid the depth of a crisis will result in companies disappearing from the markets and then the whole system might start to wobble this is the. how dependent is germany's economy on the well being of the automotive industry. scientist from the economic research company prognosis study this question in 2018 c.e.o. christiane birkhoff explains. the automobile industry. the automotive industry

is in a decisive face right now due to various issues particularly the technology shipped towards electro mobility we must ask the question what is the future viability of the german auto industry just be sure. to answer this the researchers sketch out 2 possible scenarios. in one the german automotive industry masters the challenges ahead of. us on that and the other scenario is one in which the german automotive industry fails to do so or at least fails to do so comprehensively to get the sale there is a reason to at least consider this possibility some distance money and we're going to see that if german automakers do not manage to innovate they could face a bleak future according to prognosis the automotive industry would shrink by about 40 percent by 2840 $51.00 in 3 jobs in vehicle manufacturing would be lost which

would have repercussions for the entire german economy. and of crowding so you one question is what is the m. pact of 500000 fewer people working in a sector that significantly come but you can also see that the entire german economy doesn't immediately go down the drain i think that's something that's important to understand because this does wonders for the. even if the automotive industry were to suffer such massive losses the study forecasts a relatively moderate overall loss of economic output 4.6 percent by 2045. the short term impact would be considerable long term however looking back at the country's economic history gives cause for hope. in the let's put the other mood in the last 40 years we've had all kinds of industries in germany that became world leaders then died out and just keep the textile industry chemical industry consumer. and we can do we see these losses reflected in the development of the

gross domestic product on the no because each success lead to other strengths and lifted other sectors of the economy. and over a period of 20 or 25 years i can basically imagine something like that happening in the automotive industry without these places suffering any substantial damage and chop. a comforting prospect even without the renown auto industry there's still hope for prosperity and jobs in germany. but it probably won't reach that point germany may be behind when it comes to email but the car industry is still counted among the most innovative in the world and it has a good chance of catching up where will germany's car companies be in 10 years germans and others to produce the best cars in the world and i really really hope that in 5 or 10 years time germany will transform transition and will be producing

the best electric cars in the. burger is also optimistic despite the pandemic. i'm still from the middle convinced of the auto industry in germany will get its act together. most of the optimism is only justified if the top executives quickly realize that climate protection is not an afterthought but a major undertaking of the next 20 years in the absence once the show. is off i hope they'll get their act together survive this transformation and move forward bravely and that will still have a european auto industry and 10 years time to misty. christina dec 5th hopes to see a shift in the relationship between the automotive industry and politics. for her sentences the end 10 years that i would like to see the auto industry invented and have broad democratic social discourse stand. for

a mobility policy that is oriented toward the common good but it is pretty to expiate. the year 2020 will go down in the history of german industrial policy as a turning point it's the year the german government decided that while the car may be important it's no longer more important than everything else. equal rights equal chances. wages. in those countries. for more diversity and equal opportunities in the world of work 1st of all we need their mom but it isn't the people with the world of economics. made in germany. 30 minutes on d w entered the conflict zone the government of sri lanka has been strongly

criticised of the un human rights council for each one of them and to a raging situation in the country and the increase marginalize ation of minorities my guest this week is just enough call on by you secretary just remind those foreign ministry physically jones of the moves will take the criticism seriously i'm still something about the conflicts of. 90 minutes d.w. . it's an ongoing quest for a bit of. a look at the arab spring began in 2011. people stood. against corrupt members and dictatorship.

true more security more freedom more dignity have their hopes been fulfilled. 10 years ago after the arab spring. valley and starts june 7th on g.w. . this is news and these are our top stories u.s. president joe biden's administration has announced support for lifting coronavirus vaccine payton protections the move could bolster global vaccine supplies and help developing countries manufacture their own vaccines the white house says it will negotiate with the world trade organization but cautioned.