Auto sector is booming in other countries with more ehm forward thinking car brands
Maybe read the article? One reason is slow EV sales as they invested in EV tech years ago.
Auto sector is booming in other countries with more ehm forward thinking car brands
In which countries is the auto sector booming?
In the top-2 car markets - the U.S. and China - car manufacturers are having a hard time.
U.S. third-quarter car sales slipped 0.4%, leaving U.S. sales down 1.2% through the first nine months of 2026.
In China, domestic car sales are set to fall in 2026 by 23.2% year-on-year to 18.5 million vehicles (down from 23.7 million in 2025), according to the Chinese passenger car association. China’s car industry depends heavily on its export markets as only a three out of the 130 or so Chinese car manufacturers are profitable, and these three firms’ profits have already been shrinking for some time now.
Other large markets such as Japan appear to be a bit better, but I am not sure whether the term ‘booming’ is appropriate.
Hmm I thought only German car makers were struggling (while giving huge dividends)
Schaeffler is forced to cut jobs because its customers are German carmakers, and they are all struggling at the moment particularly with a weak Chinese car market. Chinese demand is slowing down, and it has been seeing a fierce price war. This is a major reason why Schaeffler & Co. are restructuring.
If we look at Europe alone, the car market is growing (+5.7% in September 2026 year-to-date, with battery-electric rising in market share). Mercedes and some other German and European carmakers have cut their profitability outlook for this year because of a troubling Chinese market, not a European.
The measures should ensure Schaeffler can continue to develop and manufacture products competitively in Germany and Europe despite significantly higher labour costs.
Hmm I thought only German car makers were struggling (while giving huge dividends)
Despite German carmakers’ struggles, they still make profits and can thus pay dividends. Their Chinese rivals are mostly not profitable and are backed by Chinese taxpayers’ money (where do you think does their managers’ salary come from?).
Despite German carmakers’ struggles, they still make profits and can thus pay dividends.
Yes, at a time where imo they should invest money into expansion or at least modernization of their fleets. Like where is the actually cheap car for the indian market and stuff like that. Seems like they think they’re above it.
And where do you think does the Chinese EV managers’ salary come from with their firms permanently in the red?
Investors or state
Investors or state
China’s central and local governments are projected to reach debt of CNY 1.4 trillion (approximately $210 billion) in 2026, compared with CNY 348 billion (some $52 billion) in 2014 — a more than fourfold surge in just over a decade. China’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands now at 100%, up from 39% in 20214. The country’s total debt (public + private} stands well over 310%, surpassing the U.S.’ 265%.
As a result, debt servicing alone accounts for 19.2% of this year’s central government general public budget, up from 12% recorded in 2014.
At the same time, the number of billionaires in China has risen by 20% over the last year alone, while wealth inequality has been rising in China particularly in the last ten years and already reached U.S. levels (inequality in Europe is far lower than in the U.S. and China, btw).
Youth unemployment has reached unprecedented levels, and almost half of the employed people in China - 44% - are working in the gig economy.
Who pays for this economic policy?
[Edit typo.]
