Mayor's proposal aims to adjust current direction

Mayors' Initiative Demands Stronger Automotive Location in Europe

A group of German mayors, under the banner of the "Mayors for a Strong Automotive Location" initiative, have called for a realignment of the European Union ahead of the automotive summit on September 12 in Brussels. The initiative, which includes more than 31 cities and municipalities across Germany, seeks to ensure reliable framework conditions for the automotive industry to maintain its international competitiveness.

The position paper published by the initiative in the spring has already been incorporated into the coalition agreement. The core demands of the initiative, anchored in the coalition agreement, include technology openness, suspension of CO2 penalty payments, promotion of all climate-friendly drive forms, expansion of charging and hydrogen infrastructure, innovation promotion, and no additional burdens on citizens and municipalities through the transformation.

According to a current ifo study, excessive bureaucracy costs the German economy up to 146 billion euros per year in lost economic performance, with companies in Germany spending an average of 6% of their annual turnover on bureaucracy. The mayors believe that Europe needs industrial political reason and reliable framework conditions to keep up internationally.

The high industrial electricity prices in Germany are a significant concern for the mayors, as they believe they significantly weaken production and endanger the attractiveness of the industrial location. The mayors have also demanded that the CO2 penalty payments for vehicle fleets be suspended.

The initiative seeks technology openness for all climate-friendly drive forms, replacing the one-sided focus on battery-electric drives. The mayors have expressed support for the promotion of hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

The automotive summit is seen as an opportunity to set a course for the future of the industrial location and ensure its competitiveness. Cities such as Zwickau, Ingolstadt, and Saarlouis, which represent industrial sites where the future of hundreds of thousands of jobs is at stake, are part of the initiative.

Dr. Frank Nopper (Stuttgart), Dennis Weilmann (Wolfsburg), Simon Blümcke (Friedrichshafen) and Uwe Conradt (Saarbrücken) are initiators of the initiative. The names of the cities and municipalities that belong to the "Mayors for a Strong Automotive Location" initiative but are not directly mentioned in the text cannot be determined without additional information.

For more information about the initiative, visit www.saarbruecken.de/automobilstandort. Without reliable framework conditions, production sites may move away, jobs may be lost, and investments may flow to regions with more favorable conditions. The mayors believe that it is crucial to act now to secure the future of the automotive industry in Germany and Europe.