EU commissioner 'very concerned' about European car industry

The situation in the European car industry is "not rosy," outgoing Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told Handelsblatt, a German financial newspsaper, in an interview published on Monday.

There is "great nervousness" stemming from current developments in the German automotive industry, Breton said, referring to the saving plans and possible job cuts announced by the Volkswagen Group.

"I am very concerned about the announcements of plant closures," the French commissioner said.

He said that the aim must be to “maintain and preserve our expertise, our innovative strength and our competitiveness."

Breton attributes the crisis to the fact that European manufacturers have not been able to convince their customers of the benefits of electric mobility.

Whether the switch to electric mobility in Europe will be a success depends on the expansion of the charging infrastructure, which is "still heavily concentrated in Germany, France and the Netherlands," he said.

Leading politicians in Germany are calling for more help from Brussels.

"Europe must be able to keep pace with international developments and [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen must now take the lead here," said Lars Klingbeil, the co-leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Christian Dürr, the parliamentary leader of the liberal Free Democrats - which is in a coalition with the SPD - said "the reason for this crisis is the absurd European policy that puts countless obstacles in the way of car manufacturers."