 , nor of the fact that Donald Trump chose to host them at a rally in Michigan instead of participating in the GOP primary debate – just a day after President Joe Biden had joined the workers on the picket line near Detroit . Yet, the strike's relevance lies not only in Michigan's central place in America's complicated electoral politics. It is also a harbinger of political battles as the Western world, and Europe in particular, transition to electric mobility. Most importantly, it is yet another warning to Europe that an overly ambitious green agenda can have unintended consequences, especially given the extraordinary size of its car industry. Today, automobile manufacturing, an industry with a total revenue of over €500 billion last year, accounts for roughly 5 percent of Germany's GDP and 7 percent of its workforce – or some 800 thousand workers. The numbers are even higher in neighbouring countries that are connected to Germany's industrial base – in Slovakia, half of all industrial production is car-related. Two things can be true simultaneously. One, the transition to electric cars is unavoidable and desirable, on economic, technological, and environmental grounds. Two – and this is where errors have been made – the transition must be gradual and efforts to accelerate it with heavy-handed policies, by penalising ownership of conventional cars or by tilting the balance in favour of electric car manufacturing with subsidies or costly emissions standards, can backfire. In most European countries, the total cost of ownership of electric vehicles is already at par, if not lower, than that of conventional cars. Yet, as has been widely reported, that does not mean that owning an electric car is the more economical choice for everyone – one needs to drive enough miles for the savings on petrol or diesel to justify the higher purchase price. Moreover, cars are among the mos){kind=link}
In mere months, in both Europe and the US, what was considered politically locked-in is now being challenged across the spectrum
Brits or Europeans might not have taken note of the ongoing strike by United Auto Workers (UAW), nor of the fact that Donald Trump chose to host them at a rally in Michigan instead of participating in the GOP primary debate – just a day after President Joe Biden had joined the workers on the picket line near Detroit.
Yet, the strike’s relevance lies not only in Michigan’s central place in America’s complicated electoral politics. It is also a harbinger of political battles as the Western world, and Europe in particular, transition to electric mobility.
Most importantly, it is yet another warning to Europe that an overly ambitious green agenda can have unintended consequences, especially given the extraordinary size of its car industry.
Today, automobile manufacturing, an industry with a total revenue of over €500 billion last year, accounts for roughly 5 percent of Germany’s GDP and 7 percent of its workforce – or some 800 thousand workers. The numbers are even higher in neighbouring countries that are connected to Germany’s industrial base – in Slovakia, half of all industrial production is car-related.