The future of the car country” Austria

The future of the car country” Austria

The Austrian automobile importers, together with the Economica Institute for Economic Research, recently presented the new edition of the study “Leading Sector Automotive – Economic Performance and Innovative Dynamics”. The clients were the Vehicle Industry Association, the Federal Vehicle Trade Association and the Federal Vehicle Technology Guild. "Austria can rightly be described as a car country, and one can be proud of that. More than 350,000 employees working in the car sector show how important this sector is for employment and prosperity in Austria," emphasized Günther Kerle, spokesman for the Austrian automobile importers.

“The automotive industry is in a transformation phase,” noted Kerle. Research and development that is open to technology is now important in order to ensure innovations and strengthen the location. "All manufacturers are relying on electrified drives and are bringing more and more zero-emissions vehicles onto the road in order to meet the EU's strict CO2 requirements. But we must not forget about other alternative forms of drive such as hydrogen or e-fuels for the vehicle fleet," said the importer spokesman. It is also important that all support measures and incentives to strengthen electromobility, especially in the tax area and when purchasing, are retained and, if possible, simplified in order to create the framework conditions for electromobility to reach customers. In general, Austria is the second most expensive country in Europe behind Belgium when it comes to taxing cars. “Your own car has already become a luxury item in Austria,” says Kerle.

Christian Helmenstein from the Economica Institute emphasized that the Austrian automotive industry represents 18 billion euros directly or 30 billion euros in total gross value added and that the total contribution to gross value added in Austria is 8.4 percent. 354,000 jobs can be traced directly or indirectly to the automotive industry, and the fiscal contribution is more than 23 billion euros. "More than 320 patent applications annually in this sector show how innovative this industry is. In terms of inventor density, Austria is above the European average and ahead of countries such as Sweden, France or the USA," explained Helmenstein. Günther Kerle concluded with a warning: “If the automotive industry continues to be burdened, then this will have far-reaching consequences for the entire economy and prosperity in Austria.”