VW workers are now facing what American car workers faced 40 years ago. At that time, American car workers were the highest paid industrial workers in the world. Sound familiar? Now there is at most a rump of the old US car industry.
If the Chinese car companies enter the U.S., the U.S. automakers will have to do severe cost cutting. The UAW will have to get used to hearing the word givebacks. Or they will become ex-autoworkers.
Wasn’t it extra profit from Chinese market, vw died long ago before American brands. And now they abandon Russia market the only one obsess still to German brand to Chinese😅
@@AQuietNight Chinese Car Companies can’t compete with American car companies. Tesla is the biggest car company in the world. The American car companies collectively earn the highest profits and revenue compared to car companies from other countries
Californian here. On my 10th VW. The cost cutting and quality control is evident. VW is the only car company that makes cars that you almost 100% have to dump and get rid of once the warranty ends. Such a shame. It did not have to be that way. Hubris and profits over quality and ingenuity. Shame on you. VW You did it to yourself. Mercedes in 2025 is just Eurotrash too. Overpriced, overcomplicated, unreliable.
I occasional watch a channel done by a fellow that works on cars, including many European models. The catch words for many German cars now are expensive repairs for even simple problems. Flimsy parts in the most difficult to reach areas.
Not sure if workers in Detroit had 30 vacations + paid sick leave (100% for the first 6 weeks of each leave). Generally blue collar workers in Germany are extremely inefficient with 1.5 month of vacation and on average same amount of sick leave. One quarter of the year they do not work. I had a pleasure to know a couple of factory CEOs and CFOs in large german concerns, they all say that workers are extremely opposed to any change and they always push for wage increase. So wages grow but productivity stagnates. It's not 80s, Germany is no longer efficient.
@@RedCommie the average number of days German people not working because they are sick is 15 days. So even that the law states that a worker should be paid 100% for the first 6 weeks it doesn’t mean they all use those days because they can. It is only used when a person is indeed sick. People can abuse those rights. But at least here in The Netherlands if someone is sick for more than a week a company doctor (arbo arts) can be appointed to determine what is wrong and what should be done to recover and if someone is legitimate not able to work. So long story short, they don’t take a quarter of a year without working.
@@rijksenm01 I live in Germany, I've never seen someone being examined by company's doctor. So yes, people abuse it. And the average does not show a real picture, I've taken a whopping 5 sick days in the last 5 years and many of my colleages would also not even touch 5 days a year as an average. But if you have a 50k salary and no potential for further growth why bother? Just cruise and take as many sick days as you can. I bet VW is a perfect example with assembly line workers having no career growth ambitions and just pushing for more salary and abusing sick leaves
I mean you can negotiate all the agreements with labor unions and suppliers you want, but if you’re not selling enough vehicles it’s just going to be a slow death. Honestly, at this particular time I would not purchase a VW, and that’s a shame.
They are selling plenty of vehicles tho, more than anyone else except maybe Toyota. But profits are low bcs wages are high and energy cost is probably alot higher than it was too.
VW simply didn't adapted well to the new technology despite having massive cash, it's not a fault of workers, and it's a not a fault of china. Tesla took a big share of car market, and so did China because they adapted quickly. What did Germany / VW expected the americans and chinese to not invest anything good ?
It's far too easier to start on a new tech afresh than adapt to new situations. Most ICE maker nations are somewhat struggling (like Japan, Korea). But the adaptation within company is faster in East Asian countries than Germany simply because of worker union.
If they did their homework then they would know that EV isn't all that's said, which leads them to choose between technology that probably doesn't exist and what's heavily pushed as a perfect solution.
@lukazupie7220 Of course they can let go of workers if needed. What we don't want is it to be uncontrolled like at Tesla, which is one of the worst things to come to Europe.
Are the workers to blame for Dieselgate, for the cost cutting and lack of innovation? This is a managerial problem, cut the base pay of the leadership team and incentivize them to: 1) create a clear differentiation between the brands (Audi vs Cupra for performance, VW vs Skoda for business), 2) Low warranty with old engines (expensive hybrid options) is limiting fleet acquisition sales, 3) Pricing tiers don’t make sense (look at the Audi Q7 price versus Touareg) + no real entry level priced car (Renault has Dacia, PSA has Citroen, etc)
This. VW is falling apart due to greedy CEOs, who put short therm profit and shareholders payments above everything. Coincidentally, CEOs bonuses are correlated to short therm profits. Also, their great lobbing against electric vehicle finally paid off. No need to develop EVs if you can make thiccc profit on combustion vehicles. Unfortunately Chineses don’t care about lobbing and buy mostly EVs. So VW doesn’t sell as many vehicle as it used to
Toyota produces almost the same quantity of cars as VW but had twice less workers. There is cleary a manufacturing efficiency issue at VW. But I thought that Germans were efficient...
The Problem is the Politics there are a Package of 20% of the Stocks.There are Dominated with the Workers in all Questions of Productionsplaces in Germany! That's a biggest Fail of VW!
I see what’s wrong. They have too many people making business decisions that have no clue about business they’re just worried about the people that work there no matter if the plant is collapsing but hey at least nobody was fired or played off.. Great job 👏🏾
Germany never liked thinking outside the box and all walk around with there head in the sand and this my firend is a classic example vw to expensive got greedy and never future proofed them selfs for bad times ahead they should have never jumped straight in to ev,s like they did a few years ago they should have paired back staff years ago to allow for this or a buffer or even slowed down production ah no Germans know best. except vw they went in with both barrels and made a mess of it as I said back in what I said early bury their head in the sand so u have thousands going to be out of work now for what because you never further proofed any fool could see what was coming the dog on the street knew a automotive crash was coming should be made into a comedy show
I've always been a VW lover starting off with a golf, corrado g60, polo GT and finally golf GTI. Over the years, I've seem the cut backs in poor build quality and endless issues. Given the price has shot up to make more profits, they became a nightmare to own due to cheap materials. They need to get back to basics and focus on affordable quality cars again.
Toyota dominates across continents not because of its design but its functionality and amazing reliability. In Asia in particular where big spending like cars, you got to get your moneys worth and have a vehicle that is reliable for a long time.
That is one of the types goals consumers want, but its not only that goal. Diferent brands diferent goals targets to deliver to consumers satisfaction. VW are not to serve the consumer that only want cheap maintenance goals. VW consumer target to sell are not the type of consumer you are mentioning. I am that kind of consumer, and i have a japanese car because of that. And i like what VW offers, but are not a true need for me and i preffer less confort and luxury details in exchange of more cheap maintenance and endurance and general price. Actualy japanese are not that cheap exactly because of that... Everyone knows so the demand are higher so the price are higher. We have even more cheap and cheap maintenance brands, like Fiat or Renault, but less reliable than the japanese brands. Seat, Renaut, Fiat, Opel, are the brands of the majority of the minimum wage consumers. VW are already higher wages consumers car.
I have 2013 Toyota and 2015 VW. VW first 6 years didn’t have a single problem, not even a bulb. Then it had some engine problems. It looks like new. But Toyota (Verso btw, Vw is Golf 7) is falling apart all around. Nothing major but it is alot of small things. Very disappointed. Made in Turkey, maybe that is why.😀
"but its functionality and amazing reliability." ...unless you bought one of tens of millions of Toyotas withe the oil consumption issue from a poor piston ring design.
Toyota is slowly losing its credibility for reliability. For too long Toyota has sat back, invested little in RND, and just enjoyed skating along on reputation. Well that won’t last forever and we’re already seeing the cracks at the surface. Just look at the LC250 to see how far Toyota has fallen - all branding and zero substance.
Australia lost car manufacturing industry all together due to union’s constant demands to increase wage rates. Towards the end it was not feasible for any manufacturer to carry on business in Australia. Mitsubishi, Toyota, Ford, Holden / GM all wrapped up and moved on. I think workers were the ultimate losers in this case. Unions were just playing Union role without thinking long term. Germany should be very careful with this approach. It is very easy to destroy manufacturing and making false claims to excel in service industry. Both businesses and unions need to sit down and think what’s best for the country and people in longer terms.
There is a blurry line between suppression and efficiency. May be difficult to hear and accept that most labourer are filtered out by the education system for high-value decision-making roles. When you give a great deal of power to such groups, they will be easily controlled by the UNION rep (they are not your friends). History has shown evidence that the Union always pick short-term vs long-term prosper. In VW's case, short-term pain or no pain no job in the future.
Not as much as DIVORCE RATE at 50% among Aussie marriages. No more typical Aussie family by 50% means cars the size of Commodore/Statesman & Falcon/Fairlane can't sell like pre 1990's times. Single Mum's love Mazda 3 & CX-5 for example along the Pacific Hwy in NSW where I live. In England, where I was born, Vauxhall Vectra & Ford Mondeo suffer from smaller divorced family motoring needs. I swear divorce amongst middle-class families helped kill Rover cars too.
It was poor higher up management that made the incorrect business decisions, which allowed its downfall. If you build a cheap product using high wage employees, you're literally begging for the company to go bankrupt. Main time that is not the case is if the rate of production, decreasing the required billed workable hours per unit produced Should Australian companies of looked into products like Monaro for the export market and tapped a thirst in the demand for a mid-high priced item, most of the plants would not of shut down and kept most of its Specialised work force
The production methods for newer car manufacturers is a problem for Volkswagen. The video mentions they failed at updating the software. Newer automakers have updated their production methods and make software defined vehicles. More should be made in how Tesla is thriving in Germany while Volkswagen is struggling to identify the solutions. Blaming it on cheaper Chinese labor is not going to solve that Tesla is doing well in Germany and Volkswagen is not.
@@PSA78 Safest vehicles on the road. You must be a VW person or someone drinking some pretty bad coolaid. Tesla does not have Unions stifling innovation
40 billion for lying about pollution, glitches in software, loosing public trust, all that leads to decrease in sales, and workers to blame. I'm sure a solid management cut without benefits will heal most of the problems.
in the 90s, German cars were supremely engineered, from high quality materials and build to be owned. The technical quality really declined nowadays. Protectionism will only make things even worse as at it will enable the automakers to comfortably continue to do the same crappy and expansive cars lagging behind even more and eventually ending like the British car industry did. Only free market introduces the required motivation to do better products.
European governments should reduce their intervention in automobile manufacturing enterprises. It is the right choice to leave everything to the market.
@@PSA78and yet Tesla sells well because they now how to invest in RnD properly for decent tech. Dieselgate and those abominable I.D cars demonstrate how lazy VW leadership has been for all these years… Just look at their effort to cut costs with haptic buttons. What a farce their corporate welfare leadership represents…
@@jogana6909 Thats not true. VW offers many models with plug in hybrids in Europe and China. There is even a refreshed system on the market with a 21kwh battery. That said, I dont know why its not offered in the US.
@@jklppp97they still need to offer a mild hybrid as an affordable stop gap. PHEV and BEV are too expensive to compete with Chinese manufacturers and /or Tesla.
Germany pays more attention to human rights. If enterprises cannot provide good living conditions for workers, then such enterprises are not needed in Germany.
Unionized production can't even compete with non union. In the USA, there are plenty of non-union factories owned by the Japanese, Koreans, and Germans. The cars are better quality for less money and the workers are treated just as well. And then you have China using forced labor with no worker protection laws and stolen R&D.
Detroit long gone before China exports cars like now. Right now there is absolutely no chance so the tariffs are needed. Maybe Detroit will sprung back to live.
It’s very simple. German cars are mechanically excellent, but their electronics are poor. If I ever buy a German car, whether VW or BMW, I buy the most simple one with the least electronics. However, Japanese cars have always been superior since 1980 as they have good mechanical and superb electronic engineering.
The main problem is low quality. My friend's ID stays in the shop because nobody knows how to fix it. Customers are ready to pay a little bit more to have Toyotas and visit dealerships once a year for oil change.
Maybe we should start adressing the elephant in the room, that pretty much every single person in this world who can afford it has a car by now? No big surprize that the industry is tanking. The market is completely oversaturated.
Volkswagen has traditionally been recognized for delivering quality vehicles at accessible prices, embodying the ethos of the "people's car." However, recent pricing strategies, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) segment, indicate a shift towards a more premium market position. In China, Volkswagen has implemented significant price reductions for the ID.3 to enhance competitiveness. As of July 2023, the ID.3 was available for approximately 125,900 yuan, equivalent to around €15,900. This aggressive pricing strategy has led to a substantial increase in sales, with a reported 305% surge from June to July 2023. Conversely, in Germany, the ID.3 is positioned at a significantly higher price point. The base model starts at approximately €39,995 , with higher trims reaching up to €47,225. This places the ID.3 in close competition with entry-level models from luxury brands. For instance, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class starts at around €31,000, and the BMW 1 Series begins at approximately €32,000. Additionally, the Porsche Macan, a compact luxury SUV, starts at about €62,550. This pricing strategy raises questions about Volkswagen's market positioning. By elevating prices, particularly in its home market, Volkswagen risks alienating its traditional customer base, who have long valued the brand for its balance of quality and affordability. Simultaneously, it places Volkswagen in direct competition with established luxury brands, where brand prestige and perceived value play a significant role in consumer decision-making.
That's already addressed by planned obsolescence and induced demand. Convince people that they need two or more cars and ensure stuff breaks down often enough.
"that pretty much every single person in this world who can afford it has a car by now?" Right, because vehicles last forever. "The market is completely oversaturated." Yet car dealers still have customers buying cars daily.
VW paid in excess of 38 Billion Euros in fines for its diesel scandal. How did they recover those costs? Obviously by passing the costs to the consumers by scaling on quality and inflating the prices. High labour costs do not help, especially given that they are not industry standard in Germany, let along in Europe.
Skyrocketing car pricing for poor quality and very unreliable car won’t let you enjoy for long. Both BMW and Mercedes will be in the same position within next 6 months.
If you are going to compete with China, you will have to reduce costs to Chinese levels. Wage reductions will be a part of that. The whole societal structure will have to see cost reductions.
VW's factories in China has been in operation for decades. These factories employed Chinese workers (not German workers). In terms of labor cost, VW (at least China factory) is the same as BYD. However, BYD's sales are growing at a high speed, while VW's sales are declining rapidly.
@@NoName-md5zb BYD's model is ultimately hurting the entire industry because it is kind of a monopoly on the entire supply chain. They invest in everything from mine to parts; during the process, they also eliminate a lot of 3rd party parts factories in china. Is like you want more choices like you want to hear multiple voice rather than only one voice.
Not true - otherwise no one would ever pay for more than just a badge. People are willing to pay extra for VW’s own brand: Porsche, which doesn’t represent Chinese-style value for money, so VW can definitely find a middleground.
@mikafiltenborg7572 Debt alone doesn't say much. Debt service to income does. Toyota has more debt, but they have the cash flow to manage it at current rates while still delivering a profit. Of course Toyota also stuck with "all of the above" versus trying to fully commit to EV's when the demand and infrastructure doesn't exist to support it.
They got greedy and focused too much on China. Their cars are just too expensive too. They should have cut their margins, management and executive bonuses cut, focused on Europe/USA/UK more. Hybrid cars are better than full electric, as there not enough charging stations
Those Chinese cars are heavily subsidized and are made poorly. Vw woukd never be able to compete with Chinese or Mexican labor coats. Inflation has made cars expensive as well. Its a vicious storm of circumstances.
If Chinese cars are really that bad, the White House and the European Union don't need to use tariff at all, just sit by and watch them be rejected by the market. But the fact is the opposite. I saw many excellent Chinese cars in Australia.
Exactly, it's a combination of a lot of things. Just look at what Tesla is doing on the German market, or Chinese imports, they don't care about people or quality, it's just about making money at the expense of everything else.
@@PSA78 you are talking about it looks like the german brands care... no, after they invented the word environmental-friendly, nothing is about quality any longer. all about broken right after the warranty expired.
N. Spending millions or billions on a proprietary software that will regardless be abandoned every 4 years. Just accept that Android and IOS dominate, and try to work around that.
The emissions scandal doesn’t even bother me as I feel like they WAY WAY overreach. I think that high prices with low quality is the biggest issue. I feel like environment regs we had in the 90’s were a good balance. The cars polluted 95% less than they did in the 60’s and 70’s but reliability could still be achieved.
thank you nobody seem to mention this mall issue....Id like an electric 1950s beetle without any safety or excessive electronics. With user removable battery. That will take me from a to b nothing else.
The I.D. Buzz is a damning example of this. Meant to replace a cheap and cheerful family van, yet costs more than an Audi S3 - completely ignored their own namesake and tradition.
Volkswagen means folks wagon or peoples wagon. They've forgotten about it now. No VW UP and the Polo is so big it might as well be removed from sale as a Golf is only bigger by a few centimeters.
How about the 30 billion euros in fines/settlements for dieselgate? Doesn't that factor into their current situation? I would think that has been a major pain point for the company for the past 9 or so years.
Vw's yearly revenue is more than 300 bil euros, they done payed off these fines 9 years ago, don't worry about it little dude, or you just don't know what hate to think of?
@@wizaaeed Why do you assume I was trying to hate? It was a simple question. Secondly, since you are so smart, one would think you would realize that revenue and net income are not the same thing. Furthermore, VW is making all these changes so it can cut costs by at least 4 billion euros. Clearly, every euro counts.
I think the scandal demonstrates the company hasn‘t the innovation or specifically the culture to compete. It foolishly chose to cheat instead of competing. By cheating it knew it couldn’t compete. Worse still, arrogance was the enzyme or its demise.
I'd argue the cost-cutting layoffs should target management first. There are a lot more useless, negligent, expensive, and incompetent personnel in management than there is with factory workers. If you take one factory worker off the assembly line, then how is their job done? If you take one exec or senior manager ojt of the office, then the company can totally function. And you can probably pay 20 factory workers with firing one senior manager. (Yes I know orders have collapsed, o there is no need for all these factory workers).
Multi-time VW and Audi owner here, including old Beetle! VW used to have an interesting edge and almost a quirkiness, but in the past 8 years or so has gone mainstream in the US to the point of echoing Toyota. And has lost relevance as a result. Diesels we’re a unique offering and even there, they needlessly threw in the towel. The people who like diesels could see right through Dieselgate and would have remained buyers. When you try to make everyone happy you risk making no one happy.
Imagine, just imagine fkn up a decade lead on automotives, bc you refuse to see the future, while also completely relying on china to make a profit, meanwhile they already said since years they want to go full electric, but no germany doesn´t need to adapt, germany is just too wonderful. Also while we are at it, maybe, just maybe not sign all of your intellecutal property off to China just to make a quick buck. But yeah let´s blame the workers, that just want to make a good living in germany, don´t blame the complete incompetent CEO´s Volkwagen had since decades, if for once germany would have chosen a CEO with an IQ over 50 to represent their top industrial titans, then maybe, we wouldn´t have to be begging China to have mercy on our car, steel, solar, wind and battery industry.
Keep that same hateful energy when major EV companies fail, because of the same factors, Tesla's ceo is crazy, their batteries are polluting the world, renewable energy is not sustainable, it goes on and on, but here we are throwing random accusations at any industry player....
To much protection of management. The common worker and engineer without the power of decission making is not responsible for this situation. Hence, they should not suffer the first place. The managment should have act after dieselskandal right. I would propose a salary stop for 3 years for managment with the possibility to get their money after this period if they could change the course...
No body is indestructible, high prices for the same thing you get from Asian rivals, the market has spoken. BMW should follow and learn their cars now look like Nissan at high price.
@zbynekII no. Intern Combustion engine is here around 110 years. Ots old technology. Hydrogen or hybrid or electric is the way. Or some kind of combustion but with oposite pistons
The ID Buzz is pretty cool, and a lot of people would want one. However, I don't understand why they priced it at $70k+ People who buys cars around that price range are looking for something else, not a Utility Van.
Unions are like the mafia. If the boss doesn't get a big enough cut, he orders things shut down until he gets his payoff. If you let a union in, you don't run your business, the mafia I mean union does. They're too greedy to realize that no company means no payoff.
My first car was a vw golf mk4 1.6 na in 2006 and it’s my last vw. It was 75% imported parts, I guess the Chinese factory only make the body and tires 😂 cause every broken parts I encountered during my holding of this car was either made in Spain, Belgium, or Germany etc… it was a horrible experience. Have done all maintenance in 4S regularly according to menu, first small problem like window lift failure, then severe problems kick in and I have to very often visit 4S shop to get things done. I will never buy vw again
10:44 "The cars aren't as in demand as we would have wished" Meanwhile, the ID.3, first launched in 2019, I STILL NOT AVAILABLE in Australia. And we won't get it before 2026. Completely unserious.
Europe should probably focus on automation and robotics in manufacturing to stay competitive. That would mean fewer and higher-skilled manufacturing jobs in the future.
A couple of years the UAW workers in the US held a strike and thought they came away with a massive win. They were all smiles then. Today they aren't smiling. I see the same smiles on the German workers in this report as they think that stopping the plant closures will solve anything. I don't think their smiles will last
Imagine being held hostage by workers constantly extorting for pay raises while they sit around picking their noses and not being able to do anything about it. Both the greedy workers and idiotic management deserve exactly whats coming their way. Love that for volkswagen.
It's a hard truth, one that affects us all and is likely to become increasingly common in the days ahead. The suit-clad decision-makers, sitting comfortably in climate-controlled rooms, often enjoy the perks but fail to act decisively in times of crisis, even when the danger is imminent.
Thats exactly whats happening! Sometimes Unions can destroy a company because all the employees can think is about their next paycheck and constant increases regardless if they do a good job or not.
The global auto industry is on the brink of a "Made in China" crisis, and it’s not just about supply chains-it's about survival. For years, Western automakers like VW relied on China for sales growth, cheap parts, batteries, and raw materials, but now that dependence is turning into a major liability. With China tightening its grip on critical minerals like lithium and restricting exports of key components, car manufacturers worldwide are facing higher costs, production slowdowns, and increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, China’s homegrown electric vehicle (EV) giants, backed by aggressive government support, are flooding global markets with cheaper, technologically advanced cars, challenging legacy brands in their own backyard. As Europe and the U.S. scramble to build self-sufficient EV supply chains, the auto industry is realizing that its overreliance on China was a strategic miscalculation. The question now isn’t just about navigating the crisis-it’s about whether global automakers can break free before it's too late.
Has upper management and CEO thought about I don't know cutting their ridiculous salaries. I dealt with something similar when I worked for Terex Corporation building the Genie Lifts here in Washington State. Instead of cutting their ridiculous salaries, management gave themselves a raise and then closed facilities and shipped manufacturing to Mexico because they don't care about their employees.
It is impossible for people in Europe. Japan and North America to compete with people in China, India, Vietnam, … on cost of labor. The cost of living are vastly different.
Most manufacturering would go to developing countries as they got mediocre skills with cheapest labours. Developed , developing and undeveloped countries has no stance if corporates has to look. Only deglobilosation could help developed countries now. They manufacturered in cheap prices in developing nation and sell this for 10 times the price in developed nation, making 10 times more profit. Boycotting those companies, who don't manufacture in your own country. Who dont provide employment to home country. There is of no use when top level at companies want to live a ultra luxuries lifestyle with the cost of u people. That's all If mitisubhi, Toyota, Ford, VW were banned in Australia for leaving manufacturering in nation, they would have come back.
@@walli6388 I live in an area with a huge mill that is worker owned and has been for around 10 years. They are doing pretty well for themselves, it definitely can be done it just isn't all the time.
I would be very surprised if VW could keep 50% if today’s car sales by 2030-2035. 3 reasons - China market is lost for good (many other brands have left already) - European market will be heavily attacked by Chinese brands - Autonomous driving will further shrink global car market They have to reduce production capacity. This can only be a start.
VW should voluntarily withdraw from the China market and fully develop the North American market. There is no competition from Chinese manufacturers in North America.
@@jogana6909 to support my claim. In 2020 2/3 of cars sold in China were from foreign brands. Today that is reversed. 1/3 foreign 2/3 domestic. That is how fast that market is changing.
The problem with Unions is the same problem you have with investors: They want more money and they want it now. Unions have a vested interest in keeping workers in their place regardless of whether its' financially viable...(They don't get much money from unemployed members...) And investors want increased revenue for decreased cost regardless of whether it's viable for the future. Capitalism is the only system that has worked long term, but it's still awful, because humans are involved.
Most manufacturering would go to developing countries as they got mediocre skills with cheapest labours. Developed , developing and undeveloped countries has no stance if corporates has to look. Only deglobilosation could help developed countries now. They manufacturered in cheap prices in developing nation and sell this for 10 times the price in developed nation, making 10 times more profit. Boycotting those companies, who don't manufacture in your own country. Who dont provide employment to home country. There is of no use when top level at companies want to live a ultra luxuries lifestyle with the cost of u people. That's all If mitisubhi, Toyota, Ford, VW were banned in Australia for leaving manufacturering in nation, they would have come back.
@Hey_puppets Boycotting is a luxury of people who can afford to go without or who can afford to buy the more expensive option instead. Wages at such at this point, based on globalization of work force and good luck trying to put that genie back in the bottle.
The auto industry needs to standup to the constant moving emissions standards. We are past pollution reduction. Now, emissions standards are focused on special interests
First VW model was heavily inspired by Tatra V570, which was based on sketches of Béla Barényi.. so if you look deeper in history, the "People's car" isn't a German invention at all
VW used to own the Taxi game when they used Diesel VW and Octavias for their fleets but since hybrids took over Toyota dominate the cabs. VW been trading on name too long and are losing out with private buyers too.
Now you VW workers will realise how UK workers manufacturing was ripped from underneath us due to favouring manufacturing in Germany and also cheaper countries. We were repeatedly told that government could not favour UK manufacturing due to EU law. Looks like the German government has been doing exactly this!
If senior management could only start thinking ahead VW would not be in this position. For example, sell the ID3 in North America. They have excluded a huge market because they have a preconceived idea that only big SUV will sell
remember 1992 and 1993 ? Same situation as solved by Piech back then in the 4 day working week. Only question if the head is right ? A part time CEO for VW is ridiiculous and ambarassing cause Blume is CEO of VW and also Porsche as the head of all while the VW brand itself and the core infected with the issues is lead by Thomas Schäfer , a former Mercedes and Skoda executive quite down to earth and straight forward. It will need a lot of effort and sacrifiices by the workers to turn this tanker around again. Skoda and Seat and the dozens of brands are proitable like Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ducati and the whole truck and commercial vehicle diviision around MAN and the scandinavian brands. At the end the profits ifrom China will be hard to defend but at least partially can be saved with the exclusive brands while Skoda lost track big times since 2019 with a stall from 300.000 vehicles sold to 20000 or so . At the end they need to reinvent themselves again as in 1993 when quality was quite low, productivity low too and they went ahead with a plattorm strategy and many cars that were new, innovative like Audi A3 or the roadster and TT and the new beetle . But lets hope they get a second attempt with the electric vehicles right, deliver LFP batteries and better quality.
As I work in mechatronics/autotronics I can say hand on heart that VW has some of the worst quality in materials and far to complex electronics that fail very easily
@gsst6389 when you are part of the elite or wealthy car maintenance and repairs won't be an issue. For me the last good luxury car's were the BMW E39 and Merc W124. The last good VW was the Mk5 Polo
@@The66680 well yea but if i was rich i would like atleast one model for themself, one model in wish is actually build good and that it wont drain their wallets. They like to make money not lose it meaningless.
@gsst6389 Lexus would be my choice, or a Toyota Century that is sold only in Japan. For me the big issue is the SDV, software defined vehicles and its many computers and interfaces that are a nightmare to repair/replace and recode when they fail.
German cars currently many models are a headache for owners. Its reliability is poor. How many BMWs, for example, caught fire due to poor car design. I know some like this, and the brand is not responsible.
Power of Manufacturing industry economy. Perhaps UK, being service industry economy , will never understand that. I can tell this based on my experince of living in both the countries for considerable years
14:40 Why would China outsource research and development? Like using a company like Cariad to do their software? I think this attitude is at best misguided.
Keep in mind that the company is still profitable, just not enough for the "shareholders" 🙄🙄 and the quality decrease is also pressure on margins for the shareholders.
VW made every feature optional and charged extra for each one. They didn’t care about multimedia and software. They could have invested in hybrid cars 15 years ago; it wasn’t magic. A 2kW battery would have been sufficient. The concept of affordability and quality has changed significantly over time.
They should restart producing a simple car like the Jetta and Golf 2003-2006 TDI model here in Canada at least !Car producers will have to understand simple cars are liked by many customers especially the middle class !
Yeah, no, you quoted 6k EUR to build it vs 2k Peugeot who is not known for good, reliable cars. People will pay the premium to buy VW, the issue is that the premium tag is at 30k EUR+, most people buy in cheaper tiers, especially for an unproven technology. 11:40 talking about software, it's mostly because VW outsourced all of it. They only in-sourced it like 2-3 years ago, you'll only start seeing their in-house stuff in their cars around now/the next few years. Pretty much all losses stem from Chinese market, they're actually doing okay in Europe, they don't need insane profit margins.
Finde des ID.3 fast genau so schön, wir den Cupra born. Der Tavascan ist aber deutlich schöner als der ID.4… ID.4 und 5 sollten angepasst werden. Hier warte ich dringend auf ein update.
VW workers are now facing what American car workers faced 40 years ago. At that time, American car workers were the highest paid industrial workers in the world. Sound familiar? Now there is at most a rump of the old US car industry.
If the Chinese car companies enter the U.S., the U.S. automakers will have to do severe cost cutting. The UAW will have to get used to hearing the word givebacks.
Or they will become ex-autoworkers.
Wasn’t it extra profit from Chinese market, vw died long ago before American brands. And now they abandon Russia market the only one obsess still to German brand to Chinese😅
I see TH-cam Russia adopt totally chinese brand@@BerryMike-d9v
Reaganomics killed the middle-class.
@@AQuietNight Chinese Car Companies can’t compete with American car companies. Tesla is the biggest car company in the world.
The American car companies collectively earn the highest profits and revenue compared to car companies from other countries
Californian here. On my 10th VW. The cost cutting and quality control is evident. VW is the only car company that makes cars that you almost 100% have to dump and get rid of once the warranty ends. Such a shame. It did not have to be that way. Hubris and profits over quality and ingenuity. Shame on you. VW You did it to yourself. Mercedes in 2025 is just Eurotrash too. Overpriced, overcomplicated, unreliable.
I occasional watch a channel done by a fellow that works on cars, including many European models.
The catch words for many German cars now are expensive repairs for even simple problems. Flimsy parts in the most difficult to reach areas.
@AQuietNight German cars are sadly "plastic fantastic." I wouldn't dream in a million years German cars would turn into this.
So, can we assume car number 11 will not be a VW?
It's because of Eu protectionnism not compiting in global market energy crisies America subsidy and eu has no modern technology it totally eu
@@AQuietNight They become the iphones of cars.
This is a repeat of Detroit in the 1970's. History repeats again because no one is paying attention.
Not sure if workers in Detroit had 30 vacations + paid sick leave (100% for the first 6 weeks of each leave). Generally blue collar workers in Germany are extremely inefficient with 1.5 month of vacation and on average same amount of sick leave. One quarter of the year they do not work. I had a pleasure to know a couple of factory CEOs and CFOs in large german concerns, they all say that workers are extremely opposed to any change and they always push for wage increase. So wages grow but productivity stagnates. It's not 80s, Germany is no longer efficient.
@@RedCommie the average number of days German people not working because they are sick is 15 days. So even that the law states that a worker should be paid 100% for the first 6 weeks it doesn’t mean they all use those days because they can. It is only used when a person is indeed sick. People can abuse those rights. But at least here in The Netherlands if someone is sick for more than a week a company doctor (arbo arts) can be appointed to determine what is wrong and what should be done to recover and if someone is legitimate not able to work. So long story short, they don’t take a quarter of a year without working.
@@RedCommie Isn't that what happened in Detroit? Quality went down. Workers asked for more and more.
@@rijksenm01 I live in Germany, I've never seen someone being examined by company's doctor. So yes, people abuse it. And the average does not show a real picture, I've taken a whopping 5 sick days in the last 5 years and many of my colleages would also not even touch 5 days a year as an average. But if you have a 50k salary and no potential for further growth why bother? Just cruise and take as many sick days as you can. I bet VW is a perfect example with assembly line workers having no career growth ambitions and just pushing for more salary and abusing sick leaves
Unlike the German auto industry, Detroit was always extremely willing to close down plants.
I mean you can negotiate all the agreements with labor unions and suppliers you want, but if you’re not selling enough vehicles it’s just going to be a slow death. Honestly, at this particular time I would not purchase a VW, and that’s a shame.
They are selling plenty of vehicles tho, more than anyone else except maybe Toyota. But profits are low bcs wages are high and energy cost is probably alot higher than it was too.
if consumers don't want your product there is no point of "fighting" . Fighting is what animals do
@@lukazupie7220 they have to give high wages
Otherwise sell to poor countries
VW simply didn't adapted well to the new technology despite having massive cash, it's not a fault of workers, and it's a not a fault of china. Tesla took a big share of car market, and so did China because they adapted quickly.
What did Germany / VW expected the americans and chinese to not invest anything good ?
It's far too easier to start on a new tech afresh than adapt to new situations.
Most ICE maker nations are somewhat struggling (like Japan, Korea).
But the adaptation within company is faster in East Asian countries than Germany simply because of worker union.
@@dipjyotimitra186 they created a diesel scandal. That shows the willingness of VW to adapt.
If they did their homework then they would know that EV isn't all that's said, which leads them to choose between technology that probably doesn't exist and what's heavily pushed as a perfect solution.
It doesn’t really matter whos fault it is/was, fact is if workers are not needed, they must be able to fire them, obviously.
@lukazupie7220 Of course they can let go of workers if needed. What we don't want is it to be uncontrolled like at Tesla, which is one of the worst things to come to Europe.
Are the workers to blame for Dieselgate, for the cost cutting and lack of innovation? This is a managerial problem, cut the base pay of the leadership team and incentivize them to: 1) create a clear differentiation between the brands (Audi vs Cupra for performance, VW vs Skoda for business), 2) Low warranty with old engines (expensive hybrid options) is limiting fleet acquisition sales, 3) Pricing tiers don’t make sense (look at the Audi Q7 price versus Touareg) + no real entry level priced car (Renault has Dacia, PSA has Citroen, etc)
This. VW is falling apart due to greedy CEOs, who put short therm profit and shareholders payments above everything. Coincidentally, CEOs bonuses are correlated to short therm profits.
Also, their great lobbing against electric vehicle finally paid off. No need to develop EVs if you can make thiccc profit on combustion vehicles.
Unfortunately Chineses don’t care about lobbing and buy mostly EVs. So VW doesn’t sell as many vehicle as it used to
When they make the dashboard out of hard plastic on the top of range T- ROC , their days were numbered.
Toyota produces almost the same quantity of cars as VW but had twice less workers.
There is cleary a manufacturing efficiency issue at VW. But I thought that Germans were efficient...
@@dalecooper9942comment says QUANTITY not quality buddy
@@dalecooper9942 Read again...
VW are literally like a state. That’s the Achilles heel for them
Toyota is more solid but uncomfortable. The two manufacturers are completely different
@@publicname tead the comment again
So VW worker will be unemployed and no pensions when VW goes bankrupt. It is that simple.
But for an individual, job > the existence of the company. Sacrifice their own jobs is not an option for saving the company.
C level can learn to take less for the little they do in the grand scheme
The Problem is the Politics there are a Package of 20% of the Stocks.There are Dominated with the Workers in all Questions of Productionsplaces in Germany! That's a biggest Fail of VW!
In 2024, VW still have high profits.
It's too early to talk about bankruptcy.
Yes, that’s what happens when you have a trade union trying to run a company!
lol imagine blaming workers wages for the absolute inept decisions regarding china
Enlighten us with your wisdom, what would you have decided regarding China ?
Or going to war with Russia, blowing up the pipeline with cheap energy, but forgetting to switch production to tanks.
I see what’s wrong. They have too many people making business decisions that have no clue about business they’re just worried about the people that work there no matter if the plant is collapsing but hey at least nobody was fired or played off.. Great job 👏🏾
These all gonna be unemployed soon if they can't accept that immediate change is required. Both the workers and management too.
Germany never liked thinking outside the box and all walk around with there head in the sand and this my firend is a classic example vw to expensive got greedy and never future proofed them selfs for bad times ahead they should have never jumped straight in to ev,s like they did a few years ago they should have paired back staff years ago to allow for this or a buffer or even slowed down production ah no Germans know best. except vw they went in with both barrels and made a mess of it as I said back in what I said early bury their head in the sand so u have thousands going to be out of work now for what because you never further proofed any fool could see what was coming the dog on the street knew a automotive crash was coming should be made into a comedy show
I've always been a VW lover starting off with a golf, corrado g60, polo GT and finally golf GTI. Over the years, I've seem the cut backs in poor build quality and endless issues. Given the price has shot up to make more profits, they became a nightmare to own due to cheap materials. They need to get back to basics and focus on affordable quality cars again.
Bs, profits are low. Why do u just make things up?
They're right, they are one of the least reliable cars now
Toyota dominates across continents not because of its design but its functionality and amazing reliability. In Asia in particular where big spending like cars, you got to get your moneys worth and have a vehicle that is reliable for a long time.
That is one of the types goals consumers want, but its not only that goal. Diferent brands diferent goals targets to deliver to consumers satisfaction.
VW are not to serve the consumer that only want cheap maintenance goals. VW consumer target to sell are not the type of consumer you are mentioning. I am that kind of consumer, and i have a japanese car because of that. And i like what VW offers, but are not a true need for me and i preffer less confort and luxury details in exchange of more cheap maintenance and endurance and general price.
Actualy japanese are not that cheap exactly because of that... Everyone knows so the demand are higher so the price are higher. We have even more cheap and cheap maintenance brands, like Fiat or Renault, but less reliable than the japanese brands.
Seat, Renaut, Fiat, Opel, are the brands of the majority of the minimum wage consumers. VW are already higher wages consumers car.
I have 2013 Toyota and 2015 VW.
VW first 6 years didn’t have a single problem, not even a bulb. Then it had some engine problems. It looks like new.
But Toyota (Verso btw, Vw is Golf 7) is falling apart all around. Nothing major but it is alot of small things. Very disappointed. Made in Turkey, maybe that is why.😀
@@lukazupie7220
You probably got a lemon Toyota.
"but its functionality and amazing reliability."
...unless you bought one of tens of millions of Toyotas withe the oil consumption issue from a poor piston ring design.
Toyota is slowly losing its credibility for reliability. For too long Toyota has sat back, invested little in RND, and just enjoyed skating along on reputation. Well that won’t last forever and we’re already seeing the cracks at the surface. Just look at the LC250 to see how far Toyota has fallen - all branding and zero substance.
Australia lost car manufacturing industry all together due to union’s constant demands to increase wage rates.
Towards the end it was not feasible for any manufacturer to carry on business in Australia.
Mitsubishi, Toyota, Ford, Holden / GM all wrapped up and moved on.
I think workers were the ultimate losers in this case. Unions were just playing Union role without thinking long term.
Germany should be very careful with this approach. It is very easy to destroy manufacturing and making false claims to excel in service industry. Both businesses and unions need to sit down and think what’s best for the country and people in longer terms.
Another good example of this same phenomenon is England.Unions drained British Leyland until it went bankrupt.
They have cheap workers in 3rd world countries. Sadly its just math to do profit and survive.
There is a blurry line between suppression and efficiency. May be difficult to hear and accept that most labourer are filtered out by the education system for high-value decision-making roles. When you give a great deal of power to such groups, they will be easily controlled by the UNION rep (they are not your friends). History has shown evidence that the Union always pick short-term vs long-term prosper. In VW's case, short-term pain or no pain no job in the future.
Not as much as DIVORCE RATE at 50% among Aussie marriages. No more typical Aussie family by 50% means cars the size of Commodore/Statesman & Falcon/Fairlane can't sell like pre 1990's times. Single Mum's love Mazda 3 & CX-5 for example along the Pacific Hwy in NSW where I live. In England, where I was born, Vauxhall Vectra & Ford Mondeo suffer from smaller divorced family motoring needs. I swear divorce amongst middle-class families helped kill Rover cars too.
It was poor higher up management that made the incorrect business decisions, which allowed its downfall.
If you build a cheap product using high wage employees, you're literally begging for the company to go bankrupt. Main time that is not the case is if the rate of production, decreasing the required billed workable hours per unit produced
Should Australian companies of looked into products like Monaro for the export market and tapped a thirst in the demand for a mid-high priced item, most of the plants would not of shut down and kept most of its Specialised work force
The production methods for newer car manufacturers is a problem for Volkswagen. The video mentions they failed at updating the software. Newer automakers have updated their production methods and make software defined vehicles. More should be made in how Tesla is thriving in Germany while Volkswagen is struggling to identify the solutions. Blaming it on cheaper Chinese labor is not going to solve that Tesla is doing well in Germany and Volkswagen is not.
They blame everyone, but they don't want to review themselves.
Tesla also have a Lot of safety issues and problems with wages etc in Germany, so that part is dead wrong.
Tesla isn't selling well in Germany. Who told you that?
@@dougalachi Name a higher selling EV? Their sales have dropped but outperfporming all the other brands.
@@PSA78 Safest vehicles on the road. You must be a VW person or someone drinking some pretty bad coolaid. Tesla does not have Unions stifling innovation
40 billion for lying about pollution, glitches in software, loosing public trust, all that leads to decrease in sales, and workers to blame. I'm sure a solid management cut without benefits will heal most of the problems.
And the best part is nobody from office is in jail. Everyone knew it but nobody is in jail. VW is one big Mafia I will just say that.
in the 90s, German cars were supremely engineered, from high quality materials and build to be owned. The technical quality really declined nowadays. Protectionism will only make things even worse as at it will enable the automakers to comfortably continue to do the same crappy and expansive cars lagging behind even more and eventually ending like the British car industry did. Only free market introduces the required motivation to do better products.
If VW builds Golf like they did in around 1976, plain Jane model, 1500ccm diesel with stick, I’ll buy it!
European governments should reduce their intervention in automobile manufacturing enterprises.
It is the right choice to leave everything to the market.
Well Tesla offers both crappy cars and low wages and safety for their workers, while they stack up profits.
@@PSA78and yet Tesla sells well because they now how to invest in RnD properly for decent tech. Dieselgate and those abominable I.D cars demonstrate how lazy VW leadership has been for all these years… Just look at their effort to cut costs with haptic buttons. What a farce their corporate welfare leadership represents…
asian cars specially chinese cars now are the king of the road in the longterm future and its happening now
I've been waiting for VW to make a hybrid to compete with Toyota Prius or Camry or Corolla or Rav4... but still nothing.
They don't have this technology.
@@jogana6909 Thats not true. VW offers many models with plug in hybrids in Europe and China. There is even a refreshed system on the market with a 21kwh battery. That said, I dont know why its not offered in the US.
@@jklppp97they still need to offer a mild hybrid as an affordable stop gap. PHEV and BEV are too expensive to compete with Chinese manufacturers and /or Tesla.
Isn’t the ID7 coming stateside sometime this year I hope so
Your competition will determine your business policies. Not the board of directors.
Facts.
Doesn’t matter how strong the workers are when businesses don’t made money it is going to close down.
VW will still keep making money, but some dividends will be sacrificed
VW needs to fall in order for German to learn how to be lean
Sacrificial lamb.
What does that mean?
Creative destruction 😂
Yugoslavia tried this mode with workers have extreme bargaining power, now the country is gone
Germany pays more attention to human rights.
If enterprises cannot provide good living conditions for workers, then such enterprises are not needed in Germany.
@@jogana6909what a coincidence that Germany doesn't have any young companies
Oh so that was what the war was about that ended the country. 🙄 Still trying to rewrite history huh. 🤯
Gone not because of good wages but because people like Musk and Trump divided people
@@jogana6909 OK. No problem.
“Unique history” that’s one way to describe nazism 😂
Hehe, exactly!! If you check the first VW logo, it's shaped like a Swastika
See, Germany was first, Tesla is such a copycat. 🤭
@@PetrM-77 You have a vivid imagination?
@@watchtellyinuk Nope, just google it ;)
@@watchtellyinuk You can simply google that
What a surprise, state-controlled companies failing, so much wow.
Don’t forget the entire company lied about diesel emissions. If they went that far one can imagine the corners they might have cut.
Same story as Detroit. Unionised production can’t compete with china.
Unionized production can't even compete with non union. In the USA, there are plenty of non-union factories owned by the Japanese, Koreans, and Germans. The cars are better quality for less money and the workers are treated just as well. And then you have China using forced labor with no worker protection laws and stolen R&D.
They work in a more collectivism way than China.
Unions only reason we have equal rights. Time c level take less pay. Time we look at the true roots of life and liberty
No country can compete against literal slave labor
Detroit long gone before China exports cars like now. Right now there is absolutely no chance so the tariffs are needed. Maybe Detroit will sprung back to live.
It’s very simple. German cars are mechanically excellent, but their electronics are poor.
If I ever buy a German car, whether VW or BMW, I buy the most simple one with the least electronics. However, Japanese cars have always been superior since 1980 as they have good mechanical and superb electronic engineering.
Not true, many cases of engine failure on cars with perfect service record...
The main problem is low quality. My friend's ID stays in the shop because nobody knows how to fix it. Customers are ready to pay a little bit more to have Toyotas and visit dealerships once a year for oil change.
Maybe we should start adressing the elephant in the room, that pretty much every single person in this world who can afford it has a car by now? No big surprize that the industry is tanking. The market is completely oversaturated.
Volkswagen has traditionally been recognized for delivering quality vehicles at accessible prices, embodying the ethos of the "people's car." However, recent pricing strategies, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) segment, indicate a shift towards a more premium market position.
In China, Volkswagen has implemented significant price reductions for the ID.3 to enhance competitiveness. As of July 2023, the ID.3 was available for approximately 125,900 yuan, equivalent to around €15,900. This aggressive pricing strategy has led to a substantial increase in sales, with a reported 305% surge from June to July 2023.
Conversely, in Germany, the ID.3 is positioned at a significantly higher price point. The base model starts at approximately €39,995 , with higher trims reaching up to €47,225.
This places the ID.3 in close competition with entry-level models from luxury brands. For instance, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class starts at around €31,000, and the BMW 1 Series begins at approximately €32,000. Additionally, the Porsche Macan, a compact luxury SUV, starts at about €62,550.
This pricing strategy raises questions about Volkswagen's market positioning. By elevating prices, particularly in its home market, Volkswagen risks alienating its traditional customer base, who have long valued the brand for its balance of quality and affordability. Simultaneously, it places Volkswagen in direct competition with established luxury brands, where brand prestige and perceived value play a significant role in consumer decision-making.
That's already addressed by planned obsolescence and induced demand. Convince people that they need two or more cars and ensure stuff breaks down often enough.
There are people being born and passing the driver's test for the first time, too.
"that pretty much every single person in this world who can afford it has a car by now?"
Right, because vehicles last forever.
"The market is completely oversaturated."
Yet car dealers still have customers buying cars daily.
You need to check the sales stats. Nobody is buying german cars. What country has most sales from vw?
VW paid in excess of 38 Billion Euros in fines for its diesel scandal. How did they recover those costs? Obviously by passing the costs to the consumers by scaling on quality and inflating the prices. High labour costs do not help, especially given that they are not industry standard in Germany, let along in Europe.
Skyrocketing car pricing for poor quality and very unreliable car won’t let you enjoy for long.
Both BMW and Mercedes will be in the same position within next 6 months.
I was in a Tiguan R Line a while back and it felt like a 2000s American car. Low quality plastics all over, no thought for build quality
If you are going to compete with China, you will have to reduce costs to Chinese levels. Wage reductions will be a part of that. The whole societal structure will have to see cost reductions.
No. Not costs. VW has to make more components themselves. Thats what china is doing. Pay 100€ for airbag or 70€ to build one yourself?
or make really really great product
VW's factories in China has been in operation for decades.
These factories employed Chinese workers (not German workers).
In terms of labor cost, VW (at least China factory) is the same as BYD.
However, BYD's sales are growing at a high speed, while VW's sales are declining rapidly.
@@NoName-md5zb BYD's model is ultimately hurting the entire industry because it is kind of a monopoly on the entire supply chain. They invest in everything from mine to parts; during the process, they also eliminate a lot of 3rd party parts factories in china. Is like you want more choices like you want to hear multiple voice rather than only one voice.
Not true - otherwise no one would ever pay for more than just a badge. People are willing to pay extra for VW’s own brand: Porsche, which doesn’t represent Chinese-style value for money, so VW can definitely find a middleground.
It was good while it lasted. But everything comes to an end eventually.
yeah, VW's profit was only around 16 billion euro in 2024. I feel so sorry for those poor shareholders 😢
And subsidies and tariffs are only Chinese inventions 😂 the irony screams loud these days. Now competition is a bad thing???
"VW's profit was only around 16 billion euro in 2024."
That's VW Group, not the VW brand. The VW brand lost money in 2024.
VW debt :
180.000.000.000 $....
Oh, newer mind...
@mikafiltenborg7572 Debt alone doesn't say much. Debt service to income does.
Toyota has more debt, but they have the cash flow to manage it at current rates while still delivering a profit.
Of course Toyota also stuck with "all of the above" versus trying to fully commit to EV's when the demand and infrastructure doesn't exist to support it.
Debt is what companies use to write things off.
They got greedy and focused too much on China. Their cars are just too expensive too. They should have cut their margins, management and executive bonuses cut, focused on Europe/USA/UK more. Hybrid cars are better than full electric, as there not enough charging stations
Tesla and Americans stole their lunch
No one will miss vw. Lots of other car brands, and it's cutesy cars and vans will live on through its other brands.
Those Chinese cars are heavily subsidized and are made poorly. Vw woukd never be able to compete with Chinese or Mexican labor coats. Inflation has made cars expensive as well. Its a vicious storm of circumstances.
VW makes a ton of cars in both Mexico and China. Why won’t the German government subsidize their cars?
If Chinese cars are really that bad, the White House and the European Union don't need to use tariff at all, just sit by and watch them be rejected by the market.
But the fact is the opposite.
I saw many excellent Chinese cars in Australia.
Exactly, it's a combination of a lot of things. Just look at what Tesla is doing on the German market, or Chinese imports, they don't care about people or quality, it's just about making money at the expense of everything else.
@@PSA78 you are talking about it looks like the german brands care... no, after they invented the word environmental-friendly, nothing is about quality any longer. all about broken right after the warranty expired.
@gx4548 I have no idea what you're trying to say.
1. High cost of everything in europe
2. To rush to electrification
3. Quality from bad to worse
4.
Mind adding more?
4. Toxic brand since emissions scandal
N. Spending millions or billions on a proprietary software that will regardless be abandoned every 4 years. Just accept that Android and IOS dominate, and try to work around that.
The emissions scandal doesn’t even bother me as I feel like they WAY WAY overreach. I think that high prices with low quality is the biggest issue. I feel like environment regs we had in the 90’s were a good balance. The cars polluted 95% less than they did in the 60’s and 70’s but reliability could still be achieved.
They neglected the entry level cars and build pricey cars only. Not affordable anymore. I personally would spent up to 25k for my new car only.
thank you nobody seem to mention this mall issue....Id like an electric 1950s beetle without any safety or excessive electronics. With user removable battery. That will take me from a to b nothing else.
The I.D. Buzz is a damning example of this. Meant to replace a cheap and cheerful family van, yet costs more than an Audi S3 - completely ignored their own namesake and tradition.
Volkswagen means folks wagon or peoples wagon. They've forgotten about it now. No VW UP and the Polo is so big it might as well be removed from sale as a Golf is only bigger by a few centimeters.
They can't compete with the lower cost cars only with the mid and high due to Chinese mass production.
How about the 30 billion euros in fines/settlements for dieselgate? Doesn't that factor into their current situation? I would think that has been a major pain point for the company for the past 9 or so years.
Vw's yearly revenue is more than 300 bil euros, they done payed off these fines 9 years ago, don't worry about it little dude, or you just don't know what hate to think of?
@@wizaaeed Why do you assume I was trying to hate? It was a simple question. Secondly, since you are so smart, one would think you would realize that revenue and net income are not the same thing. Furthermore, VW is making all these changes so it can cut costs by at least 4 billion euros. Clearly, every euro counts.
I think the scandal demonstrates the company hasn‘t the innovation or specifically the culture to compete. It foolishly chose to cheat instead of competing. By cheating it knew it couldn’t compete. Worse still, arrogance was the enzyme or its demise.
We are unable to make software, so shameful
I'd argue the cost-cutting layoffs should target management first. There are a lot more useless, negligent, expensive, and incompetent personnel in management than there is with factory workers. If you take one factory worker off the assembly line, then how is their job done? If you take one exec or senior manager ojt of the office, then the company can totally function. And you can probably pay 20 factory workers with firing one senior manager.
(Yes I know orders have collapsed, o there is no need for all these factory workers).
The global demand for EVs is actually growing rapidly... only the demand for VW's expensive lower quality vehicles is dropping.
Nope its 100% mismanagement and greed. Workers rights are important. Who wrote this headline?
Multi-time VW and Audi owner here, including old Beetle! VW used to have an interesting edge and almost a quirkiness, but in the past 8 years or so has gone mainstream in the US to the point of echoing Toyota. And has lost relevance as a result. Diesels we’re a unique offering and even there, they needlessly threw in the towel. The people who like diesels could see right through Dieselgate and would have remained buyers. When you try to make everyone happy you risk making no one happy.
1:12 that comb over is amazing 🤩
Imagine, just imagine fkn up a decade lead on automotives, bc you refuse to see the future, while also completely relying on china to make a profit, meanwhile they already said since years they want to go full electric, but no germany doesn´t need to adapt, germany is just too wonderful. Also while we are at it, maybe, just maybe not sign all of your intellecutal property off to China just to make a quick buck. But yeah let´s blame the workers, that just want to make a good living in germany, don´t blame the complete incompetent CEO´s Volkwagen had since decades, if for once germany would have chosen a CEO with an IQ over 50 to represent their top industrial titans, then maybe, we wouldn´t have to be begging China to have mercy on our car, steel, solar, wind and battery industry.
Keep that same hateful energy when major EV companies fail, because of the same factors, Tesla's ceo is crazy, their batteries are polluting the world, renewable energy is not sustainable, it goes on and on, but here we are throwing random accusations at any industry player....
That's the consequence of government + "family" business ownership (=feudal owners).
Dumb comments 😅😅😅😅😅
you dont have any intellecutal property in the EV sector, thats why you are losing !
Yes, but cut of from the Top, the highest 40 earner, beginning with the board and you really cut costs.
To much protection of management. The common worker and engineer without the power of decission making is not responsible for this situation. Hence, they should not suffer the first place. The managment should have act after dieselskandal right. I would propose a salary stop for 3 years for managment with the possibility to get their money after this period if they could change the course...
No body is indestructible, high prices for the same thing you get from Asian rivals, the market has spoken. BMW should follow and learn their cars now look like Nissan at high price.
They have to develop a car and engine thats cheap end ecological to run for normal.people.
1.5 TSI?
@zbynekII no. Intern Combustion engine is here around 110 years. Ots old technology. Hydrogen or hybrid or electric is the way. Or some kind of combustion but with oposite pistons
Their greed is their downfall 😅
@@zbynekII 1.9 TDI and vegetable oil!
@DoorsOfPerceptionPDM absolute true.
The ID Buzz is pretty cool, and a lot of people would want one. However, I don't understand why they priced it at $70k+
People who buys cars around that price range are looking for something else, not a Utility Van.
Lots of companies went bankrupt cause worker's union wouldn't budge
Unions are like the mafia. If the boss doesn't get a big enough cut, he orders things shut down until he gets his payoff. If you let a union in, you don't run your business, the mafia I mean union does. They're too greedy to realize that no company means no payoff.
My first car was a vw golf mk4 1.6 na in 2006 and it’s my last vw. It was 75% imported parts, I guess the Chinese factory only make the body and tires 😂 cause every broken parts I encountered during my holding of this car was either made in Spain, Belgium, or Germany etc… it was a horrible experience. Have done all maintenance in 4S regularly according to menu, first small problem like window lift failure, then severe problems kick in and I have to very often visit 4S shop to get things done. I will never buy vw again
Has anyone thought about the energy policy that the country has adopted?
good one dw!! didnt know about this history about vw when i worked at wolksburg as ferienarbeit though driving vw polo in india..very good quality car
10:44 "The cars aren't as in demand as we would have wished" Meanwhile, the ID.3, first launched in 2019, I STILL NOT AVAILABLE in Australia. And we won't get it before 2026. Completely unserious.
Europe should probably focus on automation and robotics in manufacturing to stay competitive. That would mean fewer and higher-skilled manufacturing jobs in the future.
A couple of years the UAW workers in the US held a strike and thought they came away with a massive win. They were all smiles then. Today they aren't smiling. I see the same smiles on the German workers in this report as they think that stopping the plant closures will solve anything. I don't think their smiles will last
Imagine being held hostage by workers constantly extorting for pay raises while they sit around picking their noses and not being able to do anything about it. Both the greedy workers and idiotic management deserve exactly whats coming their way. Love that for volkswagen.
We'll send you the same love when your workplace is in a crisis & you're crying because you're gonna be laid off....
No company is "held hostage by workers". The workers _are_ the company.
Sounds like British Leyland 😂
It's a hard truth, one that affects us all and is likely to become increasingly common in the days ahead. The suit-clad decision-makers, sitting comfortably in climate-controlled rooms, often enjoy the perks but fail to act decisively in times of crisis, even when the danger is imminent.
Thats exactly whats happening! Sometimes Unions can destroy a company because all the employees can think is about their next paycheck and constant increases regardless if they do a good job or not.
The global auto industry is on the brink of a "Made in China" crisis, and it’s not just about supply chains-it's about survival. For years, Western automakers like VW relied on China for sales growth, cheap parts, batteries, and raw materials, but now that dependence is turning into a major liability. With China tightening its grip on critical minerals like lithium and restricting exports of key components, car manufacturers worldwide are facing higher costs, production slowdowns, and increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, China’s homegrown electric vehicle (EV) giants, backed by aggressive government support, are flooding global markets with cheaper, technologically advanced cars, challenging legacy brands in their own backyard. As Europe and the U.S. scramble to build self-sufficient EV supply chains, the auto industry is realizing that its overreliance on China was a strategic miscalculation. The question now isn’t just about navigating the crisis-it’s about whether global automakers can break free before it's too late.
The problem with Volkswagen is the dividends that some rich investors receive every week one million.
Has upper management and CEO thought about I don't know cutting their ridiculous salaries. I dealt with something similar when I worked for Terex Corporation building the Genie Lifts here in Washington State. Instead of cutting their ridiculous salaries, management gave themselves a raise and then closed facilities and shipped manufacturing to Mexico because they don't care about their employees.
It is impossible for people in Europe. Japan and North America to compete with people in China, India, Vietnam, … on cost of labor. The cost of living are vastly different.
Most manufacturering would go to developing countries as they got mediocre skills with cheapest labours.
Developed , developing and undeveloped countries has no stance if corporates has to look.
Only deglobilosation could help developed countries now.
They manufacturered in cheap prices in developing nation and sell this for 10 times the price in developed nation, making 10 times more profit.
Boycotting those companies, who don't manufacture in your own country. Who dont provide employment to home country. There is of no use when top level at companies want to live a ultra luxuries lifestyle with the cost of u people.
That's all
If mitisubhi, Toyota, Ford, VW were banned in Australia for leaving manufacturering in nation, they would have come back.
A worker run factory is a luxury that can't work in lean times
It is workers run because the company was founded with seized union assets.
@@walli6388 I live in an area with a huge mill that is worker owned and has been for around 10 years. They are doing pretty well for themselves, it definitely can be done it just isn't all the time.
India's AMUL is worker run and it beat international companies from France NewZealand and US.
I would be very surprised if VW could keep 50% if today’s car sales by 2030-2035.
3 reasons
- China market is lost for good (many other brands have left already)
- European market will be heavily attacked by Chinese brands
- Autonomous driving will further shrink global car market
They have to reduce production capacity. This can only be a start.
VW should voluntarily withdraw from the China market and fully develop the North American market.
There is no competition from Chinese manufacturers in North America.
@@jogana6909 to support my claim.
In 2020 2/3 of cars sold in China were from foreign brands. Today that is reversed. 1/3 foreign 2/3 domestic. That is how fast that market is changing.
so vw dieselgate was also union fault? winning ev makers must be chuckling at this news.
dieselgate was amazing
So it’s all workers fault. Not the management for scandals and terrible decision making.
The problem with Unions is the same problem you have with investors:
They want more money and they want it now.
Unions have a vested interest in keeping workers in their place regardless of whether its' financially viable...(They don't get much money from unemployed members...)
And investors want increased revenue for decreased cost regardless of whether it's viable for the future.
Capitalism is the only system that has worked long term, but it's still awful, because humans are involved.
Most manufacturering would go to developing countries as they got mediocre skills with cheapest labours.
Developed , developing and undeveloped countries has no stance if corporates has to look.
Only deglobilosation could help developed countries now.
They manufacturered in cheap prices in developing nation and sell this for 10 times the price in developed nation, making 10 times more profit.
Boycotting those companies, who don't manufacture in your own country. Who dont provide employment to home country. There is of no use when top level at companies want to live a ultra luxuries lifestyle with the cost of u people.
That's all
If mitisubhi, Toyota, Ford, VW were banned in Australia for leaving manufacturering in nation, they would have come back.
@Hey_puppets
Boycotting is a luxury of people who can afford to go without or who can afford to buy the more expensive option instead.
Wages at such at this point, based on globalization of work force and good luck trying to put that genie back in the bottle.
I bought maybe 7 Vw over 18 years the last few years they became unreliable when warranty expired
I loved my EA113 and will always be looking for another or better.
This doesn’t solve anything for VW. They kicked the can down the road. Harder and tougher decisions have to be made in the future.
The just kicked the can down the autobahn. The rusty can will be back in a year.
The auto industry needs to standup to the constant moving emissions standards. We are past pollution reduction. Now, emissions standards are focused on special interests
Vw used to make good cars till 2019 after that coat cutting is evident
First VW model was heavily inspired by Tatra V570, which was based on sketches of Béla Barényi.. so if you look deeper in history, the "People's car" isn't a German invention at all
Barényi is credited with first conceiving the original design for the German people's car (the Volkswagen Beetle) in 1925
Toyota is rapidly replacing VW in europe
Have a Toyota , never again thanks. Used to be Toyota , the most reliable car… I know the mechanics by name ,with my rav4 I am a frequent customer. 😢
@@blanamaxima may i ask what happened? what things gone wrong? RAV4 is the single most wanted vehicle in the north america. even the thieves know...
VW used to own the Taxi game when they used Diesel VW and Octavias for their fleets but since hybrids took over Toyota dominate the cabs. VW been trading on name too long and are losing out with private buyers too.
Now you VW workers will realise how UK workers manufacturing was ripped from underneath us due to favouring manufacturing in Germany and also cheaper countries.
We were repeatedly told that government could not favour UK manufacturing due to EU law. Looks like the German government has been doing exactly this!
My second car is VW Polo. Hope the company will overcome all issues.
If senior management could only start thinking ahead VW would not be in this position. For example, sell the ID3 in North America. They have excluded a huge market because they have a preconceived idea that only big SUV will sell
remember 1992 and 1993 ?
Same situation as solved by Piech back then in the 4 day working week.
Only question if the head is right ? A part time CEO for VW is ridiiculous and ambarassing cause Blume is CEO of VW and also Porsche as the head of all while the VW brand itself and the core infected with the issues is lead by Thomas Schäfer , a former Mercedes and Skoda executive quite down to earth and straight forward.
It will need a lot of effort and sacrifiices by the workers to turn this tanker around again. Skoda and Seat and the dozens of brands are proitable like Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ducati and the whole truck and commercial vehicle diviision around MAN and the scandinavian brands.
At the end the profits ifrom China will be hard to defend but at least partially can be saved with the exclusive brands while Skoda lost track big times since 2019 with a stall from 300.000 vehicles sold to 20000 or so . At the end they need to reinvent themselves again as in 1993 when quality was quite low, productivity low too and they went ahead with a plattorm strategy and many cars that were new, innovative like Audi A3 or the roadster and TT and the new beetle . But lets hope they get a second attempt with the electric vehicles right, deliver LFP batteries and better quality.
As I work in mechatronics/autotronics I can say hand on heart that VW has some of the worst quality in materials and far to complex electronics that fail very easily
Truth.
What luxury car can you recomend, surely theres atleast one good car brand that the Elit or rich use for with in their circle.
@gsst6389 when you are part of the elite or wealthy car maintenance and repairs won't be an issue. For me the last good luxury car's were the BMW E39 and Merc W124. The last good VW was the Mk5 Polo
@@The66680 well yea but if i was rich i would like atleast one model for themself, one model in wish is actually build good and that it wont drain their wallets. They like to make money not lose it meaningless.
@gsst6389 Lexus would be my choice, or a Toyota Century that is sold only in Japan. For me the big issue is the SDV, software defined vehicles and its many computers and interfaces that are a nightmare to repair/replace and recode when they fail.
Not the unique history i thought you were gonna mention but ok..
German cars currently many models are a headache for owners. Its reliability is poor. How many BMWs, for example, caught fire due to poor car design. I know some like this, and the brand is not responsible.
I was shocked to see the interior of the A6-etron... starting price of 60k.
Power of Manufacturing industry economy. Perhaps UK, being service industry economy , will never understand that. I can tell this based on my experince of living in both the countries for considerable years
EV's have killed VW
14:40 Why would China outsource research and development? Like using a company like Cariad to do their software? I think this attitude is at best misguided.
Keep in mind that the company is still profitable, just not enough for the "shareholders" 🙄🙄 and the quality decrease is also pressure on margins for the shareholders.
Go look up British Leyland. Bye bye
I like their new ID 4 and buzz. But I cant afford it and got a tesla instead in the US. Buzz trunk is too small and less miles
So it worked 87 years and stopped now? What actually has happend?
Just because something worked fine for 87 years doesn't mean it will remain so forever. Got to evolve and adapt to the changing world.
VW made every feature optional and charged extra for each one. They didn’t care about multimedia and software. They could have invested in hybrid cars 15 years ago; it wasn’t magic. A 2kW battery would have been sufficient. The concept of affordability and quality has changed significantly over time.
What is the last iconic car they've mode ?
They should restart producing a simple car like the Jetta and Golf 2003-2006 TDI model here in Canada at least !Car producers will have to understand simple cars are liked by many customers especially the middle class !
Darn it, “complacency “ gets us every time! We humans !
Right ... pay yourself boni of millions and than close Factorys 😂
A hard reality question first, are people willing to work harder and longer?
Yeah, no, you quoted 6k EUR to build it vs 2k Peugeot who is not known for good, reliable cars. People will pay the premium to buy VW, the issue is that the premium tag is at 30k EUR+, most people buy in cheaper tiers, especially for an unproven technology.
11:40 talking about software, it's mostly because VW outsourced all of it. They only in-sourced it like 2-3 years ago, you'll only start seeing their in-house stuff in their cars around now/the next few years.
Pretty much all losses stem from Chinese market, they're actually doing okay in Europe, they don't need insane profit margins.
First ever car that I bought in cash was a B5.5 Passat in Fresco Green Metallic (Zwickau born)
Finde des ID.3 fast genau so schön, wir den Cupra born. Der Tavascan ist aber deutlich schöner als der ID.4… ID.4 und 5 sollten angepasst werden. Hier warte ich dringend auf ein update.