"And then we can rule the world again," believes Diess

WELT "And then we can rule the world again," believes Diess 1 hour • 2 minutes reading time Germany's car industry is in crisis. But former Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess believes that with a few simple recipes, Germany can become the main market for electric cars in the premium segment. However, the domestic market must also grow for this to happen. Despite its current crisis, former VW boss Herbert Diess is not giving up on the German car industry. The industry is strong in the premium segment because there is a strong domestic market with advantageous company car taxation, the German motorways and the entire cluster around manufacturers and suppliers, said Diess on the ZDF program "Markus Lanz". Something similar must now be achieved with expensive electric cars. The global lead market for e-mobility will be China, also because of its size, said Diess. That must be recognized. However, the topic of premium vehicles is open in the "new world" of the automotive industry with its fleet limits. "We need a strong domestic market for electric vehicles in the premium segment," said Diess. Germany must become the main market for expensive electric cars. "This must be achieved with fast charging and cheap electricity," said the former CEO, referring to politics. "And then we can dominate the world again." Germany still has a strong position in China, while competition there is also tough for other foreign manufacturers. Now the German car industry must show that it produces "the best electric cars in the world," said Diess. "And then they must also be successful in the domestic market. We cannot sell anything out there that the German customer says we don't want." Diess was at the helm of the VW Group until August 2022. He recently backed his successor Oliver Blume in the new austerity measures. Volkswagen is no longer ruling out redundancies and plant closures. Other manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW are also struggling and have had to lower their forecasts, while German car suppliers are struggling with the transition to electric mobility.