this is due in large part to chinese industry policies. that's the accurate of the lot we 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 the 1st simply a determination here to draw if 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 friends you have to get him during the short window of time and carve out the spots and. 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 and is the uk which is applying to has introduced a very good subsidy policy but what you're showing always looks pretty much what the actual working conditions are like as specially at the level of the suppliers

is another thing altogether. believed to sleep polluted it's an industry policy that is ruthless that does not take social cultural aspects into consideration of the that's why i'd never consider it to model those transferable or even worth striving for as the street i'm stephen smith is. china's communist leadership is pushing ahead they want change not compromise. the german government also says it wants to put e-cards 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 on 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 which really. demand for electric cars in germany falls far short. out of expectations is it the customers fault. it could

be kind of a customer always has a say that's always true as the customer i'm actually a little bit the king because i can actually steer the industry as a length 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 car in this she put the same marketing power they do today on s.u.v.s towards clean 0 emission vehicles their sales would else or book. 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 and. when implementing stricter environmental regulations she often encounters pushback from the auto industry a favorite tactic of car lobbyists using exemptions to circumvent emissions moments that are already in place that was the case in january 2020 when the emissions limits for nitrogen oxides was discussed at this committee meeting you know of any outclassing no europe implement your a 6 standard in 2007 but thanks to the diesel scandal we discovered that in fact the euro's 6 standard was not being met by common effect wrestled with them. 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. yet at. in this case as immediately turned to

his government contacts at e-mails 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 essentially put the brakes on and even lead changes have since become public which show how the chancellor his office reacted what. that was in october 2015 when they simply said well you don't know how to meet the standards so in a fact. you can exceed them by 110 percent until 2020 and then by 50 percent after 2020. karim adelie wants to get rid of the exemption. 7 you know 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 could you know more than 600000 deaths in your nitrogen oxide

emission was mocking much. 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. be you plans further restrictions on pollutant emissions. to meet the 2030 limits sales of a car's 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. the near global shutdown plunges the world economy into its worst crisis since world war 2. have slumped assembly lines are at a standstill the outlook is forced. to.

automakers are hit full force. this what happened was incredibly serious all the existing problems with the industry's transformation were again placed back when the realize they were in one of the deepest crises that i've personally experienced the opposite something we've never seen in germany i'm never had to face in the auto industry. in china the pandemic is also hitting pioneers of emo bellotti. 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 turn to politicians for help millions of jobs are at stake. sepoy need help support that puts people back to work but we'd be pleased if politicians would

consider the idea of providing incentives for consumers for goods a lot of that's if that's what. the industry receives backing from the premiers 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 put together an economic stimulus package which is what is less likely done it has to be a package that looks towards the future aspect but you know that's. going against the car lobbies wishes the package includes no generous subsidies for the purchase of diesel and gasoline engines. for the automotive industry it was really quite

a blow and i don't think they expected it overpowered 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. back or fears those calling for change will be left in the lurch and since it's my nicholas until he gets my biggest concern about them because of the economic pressures and risks facing these companies too much with the whole issue of alternative solutions my stall again does i'm afraid of 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 automotive industry

is in a decisive face right now due to various issues particularly the technology shipped towards electro mobility and we must ask the question what is the future viability of the german auto industry industry. to answer this the researchers sketch out 2 possible scenarios. in one the german automotive industry masters the challenges ahead. on those under the and the other scenario is one in which the german automotive industry fails to do so or at least fails to do so comprehensively there is a reason to at least consider this possibility in this month and every going to see . 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 $24051.00 in 3 jobs in vehicle manufacturing would be long. which

would have repercussions for the entire german economy. and of currency of you one question is what is the impact 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 at least this does wonders for st. 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 in. the short term impact would be considerable long term however looking back at the country's economic history gives cause for hope. beyond inlets than for other men 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 electronics and we can do we see these losses reflected in the

development of the gross domestic product on the know 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 also produce the best cars in the world and i really really hope that in 5 or 10 years time germany will transform transition and. we'll be producing the

best electric cars in the world. berger is also optimistic despite the pandemic. i'm still from the real convinced but the auto industry in germany will get its act together for community to missed 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 to nixon sponsorship of. the whole thing 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 is to. hopes to see a shift in the relationship between the automotive industry and politics. your version is that the in 10 years i would like to see the auto industry imbedded in a broad democratic social discourse standing for

a mobility policy that is oriented toward the common good will be to its critics think. 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. cool relates the flotilla incident. which is. in those countries. for more diversity and equal opportunities in the world of work 1st of all we know they're not. like the people of the world of economics. made in germany. 30 minutes on d w. it's now known as the cemetery of. the

burial ground enterprise eastern tackle. people who perished west being to europe find a final resting place. anonymous. forgotten by the wilds. never a mole i'm all focused on your. 90 minutes w. . how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when we'll all be. trying to just through the technical cupboard and we couldn't read your blog. if you would like any information on the coronavirus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you can get your podcast you can also find us at w. dot com look for him slash science.

class. this is d w news live from bergland the white house backs lifting coronavirus vaccine patent protection the move could prove pivotal for efforts to bolster the global vaccine supply but how fast could production realistically be wrapped up. also coming up hong kong democracy activist joshua long is sentenced to an additional 10 months a.