About one job in seven in Germany depends directly or indirectly on the automotive industry. The industry had a turnover of almost 300 billion euros ($438 billion) in 2007 and employed about 750,000 people. Germany plans to spend more than $2.5 billion dollars on advanced automotive technololgy to maintain its number one market share in production and sales in the European auto market. Nanotechnology is considered a vital part of for the transportation industry as it leads to stronger, lighter, and more durable materials as well as to improved fuel production and use.
Germany’s automotive industry by the numbers according to the Research in Germany, a German Federal website.
- Nº 1 automotive market in Europe by production and sales (5.7 million cars produced and 3.1 million new registrations in 2007)
- over 290 billion Euro ($423 Billion) in annual combined revenues for manufacturers and suppliers
- 30 vehicle assembly plants in operation, more than 1/3 of Europe's installed capacity
- 20% of all newly registered vehicles in Europe carry "Made in Germany" label
- more than 10 billion Euro ($14.6 B) invested by the German auto industry in 2007
- Nº 1 in innovation, with 1,775 patents for transportation technologies in 2007 and over 32 innovative clusters in automotive-related areas
The increase in passenger and freight traffic represents a great challenge for German transport infrastructures, logistics and technology. Studies forecast an increase in freight traffic of about 70 percent between 2004 and 2025. However, the space that can be used for roads, railroads and goods handling is limited.
Germany offers Incentives:- Foreign investors can count on numerous forms of financial support, with special emphasis placed on fostering research and development (R&D) activities in Germany. For example, the German government will make available more than EUR 15 billion ($21.9B) in project grants through its High-Tech Strategy, with more than EUR 770 million ($1.1 billion) reserved for R&D projects related to automotive and traffic technologies.
In addition, the national innovation program for hydrogen and fuel cell technology provides an overall budget of EUR 500 million ($730 million) through the end of 2016 for applied research in the areas of fuel cell, hydrogen production, storage, and infrastructure.
The Government wants to make the German market the lead market for electro-mobility. It has established an interdepartmental coordination platform with its "National Development Plan for Electro-Mobility" as part of an integrated energy and climate program. The aim is for science, industry and politics to develop a joint strategy from basic research to market introduction. The entire value added chain is to be taken into consideration - from materials, components, cells, batteries to the overall system and its application. The plan was launched at the national strategy conference on electro-mobility in Berlin in November 2008.
The Federal Government is also investing 500 million euros ($730 million) in application-oriented research in the field of mobility under its second economic stimulus package. Funding is being provided for environmentally friendly engine technologies, enhanced competences in electrochemistry and in the industrial production of lithium ion batteries. This will strengthen Germany's international competitiveness as well as protecting the climate.
Before the onset of the financial and economic crisis, German logistics companies made an annual profit of 180 billion euros ($263 B). The logistics industry leads the field in German industry with regard to training places and also has an additional employment potential of about 20 percent.
About 2.6 million people - in all fields of industry - are employed in logistics.
Tourism registers 3.4 billion day trips and one-day business trips each year. These generate an annual gross turnover of 156 billion euros ($228 B).
The railway industry earns 53 percent of its turnover of 9.1 billion euros ($13.3 B) in the field of exports.
Deutsche Bahn and local passenger transport services carry 9.3 billion passengers each year.
The German shipbuilding industry had a turnover of 5.5 billion euros ($8 billion) in 2007.
The shipbuilding and offshore supply industry is the biggest exporter worldwide. With 76,000 employees and a turnover of 12 billion euros ($17.5 billion) it ranks second in the world, after Japan.
The German aerospace industry spends an average of 20 percent of its turnover on research and development and is therefore one of the most research-intensive and innovative industries.
