US strikes Iran for tenth straight night as Tehran hits Kuwait base; American death toll reaches 17Iranian missile hit US troop housing at Jordan base; Aqaba airport and port evacuatedHouthis declare Saudi naval blockade as fresh tanker attacks hit the Strait of HormuzBrent crude back above $90 as Gulf war rattles stocks, currencies and rate-settersTrump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods under untested 1930 trade lawMerz signals cabinet reshuffle after Spahn quits as parliamentary leader over surrogacy rowBurnham takes office as UK prime minister, names Healey chancellor and calls TrumpRussia hits Kyiv with one of the war's largest ballistic barragesUkrainian drones and sea drones strike Russian oil terminals, power grid and Black Sea shipsFerry with about 133 aboard capsizes off Guyana; dozens missingAt least 50 Malian soldiers killed in jihadist–separatist ambush near AnefisChina uses WAIC to press its claim to lead 'global AI governance'Heatwave fuels major wildfires in Spain and Greece; nearly 50,000 hectares burnedUS strikes Iran for tenth straight night as Tehran hits Kuwait base; American death toll reaches 17Iranian missile hit US troop housing at Jordan base; Aqaba airport and port evacuatedHouthis declare Saudi naval blockade as fresh tanker attacks hit the Strait of HormuzBrent crude back above $90 as Gulf war rattles stocks, currencies and rate-settersTrump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods under untested 1930 trade lawMerz signals cabinet reshuffle after Spahn quits as parliamentary leader over surrogacy rowBurnham takes office as UK prime minister, names Healey chancellor and calls TrumpRussia hits Kyiv with one of the war's largest ballistic barragesUkrainian drones and sea drones strike Russian oil terminals, power grid and Black Sea shipsFerry with about 133 aboard capsizes off Guyana; dozens missingAt least 50 Malian soldiers killed in jihadist–separatist ambush near AnefisChina uses WAIC to press its claim to lead 'global AI governance'Heatwave fuels major wildfires in Spain and Greece; nearly 50,000 hectares burned
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Narrative thread · 3 events

VW crisis

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Timeline in detail

Monday, 20 July 2026Economy

China's luxury tax and price pressure hurt German carmakers

A Chinese luxury tax changed just over a year ago is hitting the German premium manufacturers Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Audi hard. A China expert warns that Beijing is putting the German economy under ever greater pressure, and considers Volkswagen's course in particular to be risky.

For the German premium carmakers, business in China has been poor for some time, and the luxury tax changed just over a year ago is aggravating the situation; the FAZ analyzes the consequences for Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Audi. The conservative Die Welt quotes the China expert Mikko Huotari, according to whom Beijing is increasingly putting the German economy under pressure; he sketches four elements of a counterstrategy, urges haste and considers Volkswagen's course to be especially risky for Germany as a business location. Both papers share the diagnosis that the German manufacturers' decades-long China business is coming under pressure, fed by tax policy, domestic competition and geopolitical tensions. Contested is the right answer: more localization in China or a reduction of the dependence. The available evidence here rests mainly on German business perspectives. The case stands as an example of the difficult recalibration of German-Chinese economic relations.

FAZDie Welt

Thursday, 16 July 2026EconomyChina's EV offensive pressures Western manufacturers

China's EV offensive pressures Western manufacturers

Chinese electric-car groups such as BYD are pushing rapidly into global markets and pressuring Western manufacturers; the US has so far kept BYD out. In Germany, the weakness shows in the fact that the EV subsidy mainly benefits Tesla and Chinese brands, while VW falls behind.

A commentary by Politico describes China's EV groups as a "pirate ship" steering toward Western automakers: only the US has so far kept market leader BYD at bay, but that will not end well unless the West joins forces. The Berliner Zeitung shows the flip side in Germany: the new EV subsidy was meant to strengthen VW and others, yet so far it is mainly Tesla and Chinese brands that benefit, because German electric cars are bought less often. The liberal European and the independent German views complement each other but emphasize different aspects, the West's strategic pressure to act on the one hand, the concrete consumer decision on the other. Chinese perspectives are absent in these two sources, keeping the account one-sidedly Western. The background is the rapid rise of BYD, which sold around 4.6 million vehicles in 2025, and the EU's additional tariffs on EVs built in China. Whether tariffs and subsidies protect the European manufacturers or merely mask their lag remains contested.

Politico EuropeBerliner Zeitung

Forecast · Assessment
  • Most likely60%

    Chinese manufacturers keep expanding their global market share, and European automakers keep losing ground despite tariffs and subsidies.

  • Worst case20%

    A price and displacement war triggers plant closures and a deep drop in employment at European manufacturers.

  • Best case20%

    Tariffs, cooperation, and their own affordable models stabilize the Western manufacturers and slow the Chinese advance.

Sunday, 12 July 2026EconomyVW chief Blume seeks alternatives to plant closures

VW chief Blume seeks alternatives to plant closures

VW group chief Oliver Blume said there were smarter solutions than plant closures for cutting costs. The works council and the union are nonetheless preparing the next escalation stage.

In the battle over tens of thousands of jobs at Volkswagen, group chief Oliver Blume signaled over the weekend that he wanted to avoid plant closures. Speaking to Bild am Sonntag, he said there were smarter solutions, without specifying them, as Welt and Daily Sabah reported. The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes how Blume is becoming publicly isolated and how, in the face of vague hints, both the works council and the union are already preparing the next escalation stage. Daily Sabah places the case in a broader German auto crisis, from which young engineers are also suffering, unable to find a position despite numerous applications. The camps are at odds: management stresses flexibility and alternatives, while the labor side distrusts the unclear savings plans and is gearing up for conflict.

Die WeltSüddeutsche ZeitungDaily Sabah

Forecast · Assessment
  • Most likely55%

    VW and the workers' representatives hammer out a compromise of short-time work, severance packages and investment pledges, without full plant closures but with job cuts.

  • Worst case20%

    The talks fail, strikes break out and plant closures come after all, further deepening the German auto crisis and the regional economy.

  • Best case25%

    Blume presents a viable restructuring plan that secures sites, cuts costs and defuses the conflict with the workforce.