The electric car trend will affect 178,000 jobs in the German auto industry

A recent report from the Ifo Research Institute based in Munich, Germany, said the trend towards electric vehicles could affect thousands of workers in the country in the coming years.

The switch to electric vehicles will affect at least 178,000 jobs in the German auto industry. Photo: VNA Ifo’s research presents a number of potential challenges in the future as governments work to phase out diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles in favor of low-emissions, even zero-emission vehicles. waste. In a statement released alongside the report, Ifo said an estimated 75,000 workers in Germany’s car manufacturing sector will retire by the middle of the decade. But if by 2025, the production of cars powered by internal combustion engines falls to levels previously predicted under current emissions regulations, the switch to electric vehicles will affect little. 178,000 jobs in the German auto industry. This group, Ifo explained, would include workers manufacturing product groups directly or indirectly dependent on internal combustion engines, with 137,000 of these working directly in the auto industry. Ifo President Clemens Fuest described the transition to electric vehicles as a major challenge, especially for auto parts suppliers as midsize companies dominate the sector. . He assessed that it is important to maintain skilled jobs in the production of vehicles using internal combustion engines and electric vehicles without changing the industry structure. The report comes after the German federal government announced its ambition to have 7-10 million new registered electric vehicles in the country by the end of the decade. In January 2021, Germany’s road traffic regulator said sales of electric vehicles in Germany will be more than 194,000 units in 2020, a threefold increase from the previous year. Internationally, the European Commission has also expressed its desire to have at least 30 million zero-emissions cars on the road by 2030, as part of its “Smart and Sustainable Transport Strategy.” . According to the International Energy Agency, about 3 million new electric cars were registered last year, a record number and up 41% from 2019.