Industrial policy and supply chains
2026-04-26
11 minute read
19 sources
Germany's automotive crisis 2026: Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and the Mittelstand supplier squeeze
The German auto cluster is absorbing the worst earnings shock since 2009. We map the OEM income collapse, the China share decay, the IG Metall pact, the Section 232 tariff hit, and the Mittelstand reset through 2026.
Volkswagen Group net income fell to 12.4 billion euros in 2024 from 17.9 billion in 2023, BMW Group net income to 7.7 billion from 12.2 billion, Mercedes-Benz Group to 10.4 billion from 14.3 billion, and Porsche AG operating margin compressed sharply across 310,718 deliveries. China retail share for the Volkswagen brand has slid from roug...