German economy is collapsing

[Ali_Baba]

Have you ever attempted to work on a German car?

Don't.

Whats wrong with them? I have only ever driven German cars in my driving career to date!

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Whats wrong with them? I have only ever driven German cars in my driving career to date!

Too complicated to work on IMO.

 

[fitpOsitive]

As per plan

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Well if Germany's economy is tanking this shouldn't be a shocker

Far-right AfD win signals shift in Germany, raises alarm in Europe

Germany’s far-right AfD party won a major parliamentary election victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The win marks a growing divide in German politics. The AfD party is anti-immigration and has been labelled as xenophobic and extremist by German intelligence. Liz Landers discussed the...

www.pbs.org

Far-right AfD win signals shift in Germany, raises alarm in Europe​

Germany’s far-right AfD party won a major parliamentary election victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The win marks a growing divide in German politics. The AfD party is anti-immigration and has been labelled as xenophobic and extremist by German intelligence. Liz Landers discussed the outcome with Liana Fix, author of “Germany Rearmed: The Return of War and the End of Illusions.”

 

[Sainthood 2.0]

Whats wrong with them? I have only ever driven German cars in my driving career to date!

Japanese cars - Reliable but boring
American cars- for men, rugged, hardcore trucks, Hellcats, etc, etc not the most reliable, except for maybe the trucks, but fun, especially for North American driving.
German- complicated, unreliable, offer nothing really, imo, as a consumer; there are much better options out there, at least in the US.
Korean- Hyundai, Kia- Hyundai especially is doing really well in terms of reliability, options, affordability.

I want Chinese cars to enter the US market so we can see real competition, although I do think if Democrats end up removing Elon, we might just see Tesla running circles around all the Chinese cars, at least in the developed world....

 

[fitpOsitive]

You know, a country, no matter which country is that, is a weak entity. The real power lies in the hands of organizations like Black Rock, oil companies like BP or Shell, Bloomberg. They don't care now whether you pray 5 times, you really are loyal to your 3rd wife, you are Communist, an Imran Khan supporter or a part time thief. The only thing that matters is, whether you accept the modern monetary system or not. That's the religion they are after (no matter which religion you come from).

@PK781 look what Hopper says.
It's not about food, it's about getting those ants in line. Scene from an old cartoon movie.

 

[Beijingwalker]

EU spends three times more on imports from China than bloc exports there​

Days before Xi Jinping’s summit with Donald Trump, new study shows trade deficit ran at more than €1bn daily in July

China and the EU are locked in talks to avert a trade war. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Tue 22 Sep 2026 12.54 BST

Consumers and businesses in the EU are spending three times more on Chinese imports than their counterparts in China are buying from the bloc, a study has shown.

Customs data showed the gap between the EU’s imports from China and exports to China, the trade deficit, ran at more than €1bn (£860m) a day in July.

The new data comes just days after the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the trade imbalance must be arrested, and before Xi Jinping’s summit with Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington.
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ehold-rare-earths-hopeful-supplier-eu-viridis
The Mercator Institute for China Studies (Meric) said: “The problem is no longer simply that the EU is buying more Chinese goods. China is selling more to Europe while buying less from it.”

China and the EU are locked in talks about averting a trade war, and the EU’s trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, will travel to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart on 8 October.

“With the bilateral deficit now exceeding €1bn a day, the widening imbalance will almost certainly be high on the agenda at the planned EU-China meeting in October,” Meric said.

Analysis of Chinese customs data by Meric showed the EU’s trade deficit hit €36.5bn in July alone, up from €32.2bn in July 2025. From January to July, the total deficit now stands at €234bn, about €21bn more than the first seven months of 2025.

“The imbalance has now moved beyond three to one. For every €1 of goods the EU exported to China in July, it imported €3.10. The deficit was equivalent to €1.18bn a day,” Meric said.

Sources in Brussels said one of the measures being considered is introducing quotas on hybrid vehicles and certain types of chemicals imported from China.

Sales of hybrid vehicles rocketed after the imposition of extra tariffs on Chinese EVs in 2024 omitted to include hybrid electric cars, causing concern in the EU car industry.

The latest figures show imports of hybrid cars that do not have to be plugged in have grown tenfold, from just under 4,000 vehicles sold in October 2024, to 50,000 in July 2026.

The Financial Times reported last week that the EU has asked China to voluntarily reduce exports of hybrids.

China has repeatedly warned it is ready for a trade war but its commerce ministry last week maintained a diplomatic stance before the October summit.

“Any solution between China and the EU must ensure a balance of interests, comply ‌with World Trade Organization rules and the respective domestic laws of every side, and fully take into account the interests of industries on both sides,” it said.

Chinese exports will be high on the agenda at Thursday’s summit in Washington, with expectations that a 12-month suspension of Beijing’s rare earth export restrictions will be extended.

Kurt Tong, the former US consul general to Hong Kong and managing director of the Asia Group strategic advisory firm, said if a reprieve was not announced this week it could be announced at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month.

China introduced the rare earth export restrictions in April 2025, almost bringing the car industry in the EU, Mexico, US and the UK to a halt amid shortages of permanent magnets.

It suspended the ban last October when Trump met Xi in South Korea but did not offer any further concessions when the two presidents last met in May in Beijing.

EU spends three times more on imports from China than bloc exports there

Days before Xi Jinping’s summit with Donald Trump, new study shows trade deficit ran at more than €1bn daily in July

www.theguardian.com

 

[Eşbah]

Most of Germany got poorer between 2019 and 2024

 

[wangdefa]

When Europe collectively chooses to abandon cheap Russian energy, it is like an industry losing its lifeblood, and it is already destined to lose its future industrial competitiveness. This has nothing to do with which political party Germany chooses to come to power.
I have always said that Europe lacks the ability to solve problems on its own; it can only act as a follower, taking orders from others and then executing them.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

When Europe collectively chooses to abandon cheap Russian energy, it is like an industry losing its lifeblood, and it is already destined to lose its future industrial competitiveness. This has nothing to do with which political party Germany chooses to come to power.
I have always said that Europe lacks the ability to solve problems on its own; it can only act as a follower, taking orders from others and then executing them.

The main reason is the structural change in competition against China.

Russia's inexpensive fossil fuel energy can make a temporary relief, but it wouldn't last forever.

The western world doesn't have the pain tolerance to initiate a true structural reform like China is doing right now, that's why they cannot compete against China right now.

 

[RescueRanger]

Whats wrong with them? I have only ever driven German cars in my driving career to date!

Vs…

…
I can do most maintenance on my car myself, I doubt I could do the same with this computerised plastic monstrosity…

I am certain they have made modern cars so difficult to maintain so that you are forced to go to the dealer for overpriced nonsense.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

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I can do most maintenance on my car myself, I doubt I could do the same with this computerised plastic monstrosity…

I am certain they have made modern cars so difficult to maintain so that you are forced to go to the dealer for overpriced nonsense.

And they wonder why they are 0-2 in the 20th Century.

 

[Ali_Baba]

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I can do most maintenance on my car myself, I doubt I could do the same with this computerised plastic monstrosity…

I am certain they have made modern cars so difficult to maintain so that you are forced to go to the dealer for overpriced nonsense.

True - modern German cars are elitist against grease monkey types .

So, what will you do when all cars become electric? At some point you will have to put down the monkey wrench ?

 

[Eşbah]

Europeans, too, can play this game.

 

[AViet]

Europeans, too, can play this game.

Even if Germany's nominal GDP per capita was lower than China's and their workers receive half the wages of Chinese workers, then China would still be more competitive. Their people are smarter, better educated, more disciplined and harder working. In addition, China is the world's single largest market of almost every items of products. They have also established complex supply chains, which Germany, or even all European combined, would find it hard to replicate.

China can make its products more competitive by devalueing its currency, but if European do the same, there would be not much change, unless they want to work and receive wages of sub-saharan African workers.