Story at Pleiteticker here. [Translation by Pierre Gosselin]

In an interview, Prof. Kurt Lauk, former economic council head and automobile manager, warns half of Germans “will no longer be able to afford a car.” “A disgrace”.

He also warns of a rapid demolition of Germany’s economic backbone: the automotive industry. [emphasis, links added]

“It is a disgrace what is sitting in the chair of Ludwig Erhard or Graf Lambsdorff. The hostility to technology coming from the Ministry of Economics is unbearable. Everywhere where we are or were world market leaders, we have gone about abolishing it,” Lauk said in an interview.

It is the “worst thing that could happen” for the German industry.

“For several years now, we have been working hard to destroy this competitive advantage of German industry or to hand it over to other nations. We now have ‘economic heads’ sitting in the Ministry of Economics who have no other professional qualifications,” Lauk added.

Lauk says Germany’s technological advantages are now in jeopardy because the backbone of Germany’s economy and driver of innovation is the country’s automotive industry. “This is where most of the jobs are.”

150 years of technological experience “thrown away”

“The technological advantage of German carmakers through 150 years of experience with the combustion engine, transmissions, etc. is being recklessly abandoned, Lauk said.

“We are throwing away our competitive advantage and adopting the ‘Chinese drive’. Because 80 percent of the battery drives come from China. That means China has driven us up against the wall in a strategic situation. And with our naivety, we didn’t realize what was happening.”

Unaffordable for the bottom 50% 

Lauk warns that’s because e-cars are considerably more expensive than conventional combustion engine vehicles: “The bottom fifty percent of the income pyramid will no longer be able to find a vehicle for less than 40,000 euros.” And thus this group will see significantly restricted mobility.

Tinder dry social powder keg of the haves and have nots

“Today you can get a cheap, suitable vehicle for 15,000, 18,000, or 20,000 euros. That will no longer be the case. We are running into a huge social conflict with this idiotic, singular policy to drive with electric batteries.”

Read more at No Tricks Zone

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