It was just past 11 on a freezing December morning on the outskirts of Brussels, but already workers at the city’s Audi factory were cracking open frosty cans of beer.
They had just finished a long night shift – not on one of the production lines at a plant that has produced 8 million cars since 1949, according to a huge sign on its exterior wall – but on a picket line outside.
Pallets and old furniture were added to roaring fires in the middle of a road. Hand-painted signs raged, in French, against “Audi, premium thief” and parent company Volkswagen’s plans to move some production to Mexico once it closed this plant and two in Germany later this year – a historical first.
A greying worker who gave only his first name, Pierre, spent 23 years at this plant. It will close for good next month, and he said he did not know what he would do after that. “This is my second city, my second home,” he said in halting English.
For a growing number of analysts and industry insiders, this is ground zero for Europe’s “China shock” – even if the Asian giant does not appear on the bedsheets emblazoned with workers’ demands.
Chinese customs data this week showed a 4.4 per cent drop in its imports from the EU in 2024 compared with a year earlier.
My Comments :
This analysis is terribly wrong. There is no sluggish demand in China. For 2024 China's GDP growth is once again on target. For 2024 Chinese GDP growth would have hit 5% as projected.
But there is a huge drop in Chinese demand for European cars especially for luxury brands like Mercedes, Audi and VW. This is because Chinese EVs are now presenting better quality engineering and finishing than 'traditional' European brands. And Chinese cars are much cheaper. This is the main reason European cars cannot sell in China. And here is the knock out punch - this trend will not be reversible for a very long time to come. European car manufacturers are doomed.
Tariffs will not work. It is just kicking the can down the street. Economic sanctions are just too stupid. Trade restrictions are all suicidal.
The world will have no choice. Just open world trade to everyone. No barriers. Lets see who can make a better mousetrap and sell it for a better price.
