German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has cause to be positive as the automotive sector transitions to electric cars. His confidence stems from a $3 billion agreement between ZF Friedrichshafen and US semiconductor firm Wolfspeed to manufacture chips for electric cars in Saarland, a region in western Germany with an economy strongly reliant on the dying internal combustion engine.
The agreement has been seen as a sign of optimism for the tens of thousands of employees in Germany’s car sector who are concerned that the transition to electric vehicles would result in job losses. Legacy manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have been forced to reassess and often reinvent their decades-old production techniques as the globe transitions to EVs and the competition to create them more cheaply continues.
