{"id":643375,"date":"2026-10-11T18:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T18:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/643375\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T18:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T18:30:14","slug":"volkswagen-boss-backs-eu-plan-to-bolster-domestic-european-industry-volkswagen-vw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/643375\/","title":{"rendered":"Volkswagen boss backs EU plan to bolster domestic European industry | Volkswagen (VW)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The boss of Volkswagen has backed EU proposals to boost its domestic industry, arguing European carmakers need to be able to \u201ccompete under comparable conditions\u201d with Chinese rivals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Oliver Blume said \u201cMade in Europe\u201d rules from the EU \u201cmust reward real value creation in Europe\u201d, speaking in Paris before the motor show this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The rules are aimed at countering the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2026\/sep\/24\/eu-sales-chinese-hybrid-cars-rocket\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rapid rise of Chinese brands in Europe<\/a> in the automotive sector and other important manufacturing industries. Lower-priced Chinese manufacturers have prompted a crisis in several industries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Volkswagen is among the most-affected European companies. Germany\u2019s biggest carmaker has launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2026\/sep\/03\/volkswagen-confirms-100000-job-cuts-by-2030\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a brutal plan to cut as many as 100,000 jobs<\/a>. Blume said it was the \u201clargest transformation programme in its history\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The proposals for the Made in Europe rules, formally known as the Industrial Accelerator Act, would limit subsidies and public procurement to products with a large proportion of their materials and manufacturing coming from within the EU.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Blume listed a litany of challenges facing European carmakers, saying: \u201cEurope is under enormous competitive pressure.\u201d These included: high energy costs; lower demand as consumers struggle with high inflation; the need to be quicker to develop cars; and intense competition from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/china\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">China<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2026\/oct\/09\/china-agrees-to-curb-hybrid-car-exports-to-eu-in-landmark-deal\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the EU said it had reached a landmark deal<\/a> with China to \u201chalve\u201d its sales of hybrid cars in the bloc amid fears surging sales could kill off parts of the European car industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Blume said Germany\u2019s carmakers were happy to compete with Chinese rivals, but said the EU should try to reward businesses with significant European footprints.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cCompanies that invest and develop in Europe must see a clear benefit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Referring to Chinese companies, he added: \u201cThose who sell here should compete under comparable conditions and create jobs and value here in Europe, too.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-11\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Every weekday<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-vf9hps\">Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-djbwnz\">Get set for the working day \u2013 we&#8217;ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791743414_509_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-gx9601\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-11\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<p>The new all-electric ID Tiguan. Photograph: Volkswagen AG<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Blume added: \u201cWe believe in open markets, but openness also means standing up for our own interests in Europe. Because a strong industrial base means more than economic success. It protects technological independence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Volkswagen is exhibiting at the Paris show for the first time in 20 years. Blume emphasised the \u201cclose ties between France and Germany\u201d, while hosting the French industry minister, S\u00e9bastian Martin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Arno Antlitz, VW\u2019s chief financial officer, said the job cuts were necessary to \u201cincrease our economic power\u201d by increasing profitability and allowing it to defend its \u201chome turf\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The company is cutting the number of models it offers worldwide from 150 to 75 across brands including Audi and \u0160koda. It hopes the move will reduce complexity in its factories and for dealers, cutting the cost of each vehicle it makes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Sunday, it revealed the production version of its ID Tiguan, an electric edition of its bestselling family SUV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The boss of Volkswagen has backed EU proposals to boost its domestic industry, arguing European carmakers need to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[114,85,46],"class_list":["post-643375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}