While car manufacturers are enjoying record profits, the mood among their suppliers is gloomy. The BIA Group from Solingen recently announced that it would cease production at its site in Forst near Bruchsal.
The subsidiary manufactures the Mercedes star. However, the projects will be relocated from Forst, so that the production of the symbolic Mercedes star should be secured. BIA Managing Director Jörg Püttbach justified the withdrawal from Forst with steadily falling sales and an explosion in energy costs, which had led to rapidly increasing losses. Many German automotive suppliers are currently on the brink of collapse. We are talking, for example, about Borgers from Bocholt, which manufactures textile components, and Dr. Schneider from Franconia, which produces panels for ventilation systems, among other things. Industry representatives are warning of further insolvencies. They are complaining about the massive cost increases and delivery bottlenecks, which are said to have caused production backlogs running into billions. But if you take a closer look, the automotive industry has been on a downward spiral for some time. Production has fallen from 5.7 to 3.1 million vehicles since 2016 (2021). According to BMW chief economist Helmut Becker, the situation for suppliers is critical, not least because electric cars only have 200 different components instead of the 1,400 used in combustion engines. Becker does not believe that without growth and free trade, things will pick up again with China. He is particularly gloomy about the future of small and medium-sized companies.
