VW, Mercedes, and BMW in the Face of Donald Trump—A Tightrope Walk Between Investing in the U.S., Maintaining Operations in Europe, and Catching Up in Electric Mobility
The German automotive industry faces a threefold challenge: competition from China; a difficult transition to electric vehicles; and US tariffs.
German car manufacturers and their suppliers find themselves at the heart of the geopolitical turmoil: on the one hand, they are collateral victims of the Sino-American rivalry, but they are also directly affected by the US President’s policies. They must now adapt to US tariffs and local content rules. The tariffs on vehicles and their components are intended to reduce the US trade deficit with other countries, including Germany—for which the US represented the main destination for car exports in 2025. True to the “America First” principle, the US President is pursuing, through his trade policy, a strategy of reindustrialising the United States to create manufacturing jobs there. Car manufacturers must adapt by establishing operations in the US market to circumvent the tariffs, which may prove detrimental to the interests of Germany’s already fragile industrial—and automotive—base, as evidenced by the numerous layoffs in recent years.
- This publication is available in French: Allemagne d'aujourd'hui, 2026/3 No. 257, July-September 2026 (pages 108-119).
>>>> Marie Krpata is Research Fellow at the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) at Ifri, where she works in particular on the European Union and the foreign policy of France and Germany.
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Marie KRPATA
Research Fellow, Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa), Ifri
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.
Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.
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