German minister: VW must solve most of its problems alone 

Frankfurt, Germany — 

Germany wants to enactment Volkswagen and assistance it debar mill closures but the ailing car elephantine volition person to hole astir of its problems itself, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Friday.

Volkswagen said earlier this period it needed important restructuring to enactment competitive, and was considering shutting sites successful Germany for the archetypal clip successful its 87-year history.

The announcement stunned employees and added to concerns astir Germany's flagship car manufacture arsenic it grapples with precocious costs, accrued contention from China and anemic request for electrical vehicles (EVs).

"The bulk of the tasks volition person to beryllium solved by Volkswagen itself," Habeck said during a sojourn to a VW works successful Emden successful northwestern Germany.

He refused to remark connected media reports that thousands of jobs could beryllium threatened astatine Volkswagen, saying helium "cannot interfere" successful institution policy.

But politicians could assistance the car assemblage by looking astatine ways to nonstop the close "market signals", Habeck said, stopping abbreviated of mentioning immoderate imaginable authorities assistance for Volkswagen.

He pointed successful peculiar to efforts to boost request for EVs, insisting that electrical driving "is the future."

Sales of artillery cars person plummeted successful Germany this twelvemonth aft the authorities phased retired subsidies, dealing a stroke to carmakers who person invested heavy successful the modulation distant from fossil fuels.

Berlin precocious laid retired plans for caller taxation breaks for electrical institution cars to assistance crook the tide, Habeck noted.

The curate volition connected Monday big a high-level gathering with representatives from the car manufacture and unions to sermon the sector's woes.

Underlining the existent challenges for carmakers, Mercedes-Benz connected Thursday lowered its outlook for 2024 connected the backmost of anemic income successful the cardinal Chinese market.

German rival BMW likewise trimmed its nett guidance earlier this month, besides citing muted request successful China.