Volkswagen warned against importing Chinese-built cars to Germany

Mikko Huotari, director of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics) in Berlin, cautioned Volkswagen not to bring cars produced in China into Germany or to allocate German plant capacity to Chinese manufacturers. He said the move would create price and competition pressure on German suppliers and expose the German market to unfair labour and regulatory conditions, calling it a risky bet. Huotari noted that VW CEO Harald Blume had suggested the import as a way to address VW’s current crisis, and added that Israeli and Canadian defence firms had offered to use any idle VW capacity, suggesting a more strategic use of the facilities.

Friedrich Merz, the German leader of the CDU, also weighed in, describing the idea of producing foreign models in German factories as a short‑term measure to improve plant utilisation, but not a lasting solution for the automotive sector.

Both experts warned that such cooperation could undermine Germany’s social market economy standards and the competitiveness of its domestic auto industry.