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Car crisis: Jobs are shaky, but there is also good news
Almost 2,000 jobs at Magna are said to be at risk, and supplier Continental had to record a loss of billions. A WEAKING ECONOMY and the global crisis in the automotive industry are striking.
Car crisis: Jobs are shaky, but there is also good news
The year 2019 remains an extremely difficult one for the automotive industry. Numerous manufacturers are struggling with declining global sales figures, primarily due to the weak Chinese market. Savings are made particularly at suppliers. This could now also affect Magna and especially the location in Graz. The shaky jobs have been attributed to the rumored end of production of BMW's 5 Series sedan. Around 10,000 employees currently produce six car models at Magna: in addition to the 5 Series BMW, the SUV models E-Pace and the electric I-Pace for Jaguar, the G off-road vehicle for Mercedes, the Z4 for BMW and the Supra for Toyota.
“Automotive manufacturers are particularly saving on suppliers.”WOLFGANG BAUER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CONTINENTAL DEEP
Apart from that, the world's largest supplier Continental has announced deep red figures for the third quarter. The German group posted a loss of almost two billion euros. Conti boss Elmar Degenhart “does not expect that global production will pick up significantly” in the next five years. By 2023, the company's realignment could cost 15,000 jobs, 5,000 of which would be lost in Germany alone.
OCTOBER HIGH
There is more encouraging news from Statistics Austria. After a so far lukewarm year, new registrations have increased. In October 2019, 25,138 cars were newly registered. That is 11.7% more than in October of the previous year. However, over the first ten months of the year there was a decrease of five percent compared to the same period last year. From January to October, 283,410 cars were newly registered. Gasoline-powered cars (share: 54.3%) fell by 4.6%, diesel cars (share: 38.2%) even fell by 11.9%. Among new registrations of vehicles with alternative drives, there were increases for electric cars (+48.5%) as well as gasoline hybrids (+29.4%) and diesel hybrids (+416.3%).
CHINA ENTRY, JAGUAR UPTURN
In our current issue I would particularly like to recommend two articles to you. In the story “China is knocking” we report on the Chinese manufacturer JAC, which uses Austria as a gateway to the Euro market. An electric compact SUV will be offered at launch, which will be sold through Raiffeisen warehouses and selected dealer partners (page 14). Furthermore, an interview with Thomas Hörmann, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover, who expects an upswing in 2020 in a “difficult year” thanks to the brand new Defender.