Automotive suppliers concerned about Germany as a location
There is a polarisation taking place among German automotive suppliers between large and small. The smaller companies are primarily the ones to suffer: they are facing tough challenges in view of increasing internationalisation, technological changes and high pressure on costs.
This was the conclusion of a study conducted by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) from Bergisch Gladbach on behalf of which a study group headed by Professor Dr. Stefan Bratzel interviewed 117 senior managers of automotive supply companies in Germany on the current state of business and the future prospects for the industry.
The majority of the managers (54%) believe that Germany will in future lose its importance as a production and development location. The consequence is that suppliers are under increasing pressure to push ahead with internationalising their business to avoid losing market share.
With small and medium-sized companies, in particular, with fewer than 500 employees (SMEs), the average degree of internationalisation is half that of the big suppliers. Of the latter, 85 percent are already active in the NAFTA region and China while the figures for the SMEs are only 45 percent and 41 percent respectively. But at least those figures are 12 and 15 percent respectively higher than in the previous year.
To read the full article, courtesy of www.driving-news.com, please click here.
For more information about the the Center of Automotive Management (CAM), please click here.
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In: CLEPA News, Growth & Competitiveness