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Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

The unions and government leaders are howling but what must be done will be done.

Big Outcry Over Closures

DW reports VW’s Warning on Plant Closures in Germany Causes Outcry.

Easy to Spot Problems

• The state has no business owning shares. Letting government dictate business decisions is more than a bit problematic.

• Unions are obviously a problem.

• And for the situation to get this out of hand suggests VW management put off needed decisions too long.

No Realistic Choice

Saxony’s Prime Minister, Stephan Weil, says “the question of plant closures will not arise due to the successful use of alternatives.”

OK Mr. Weil, are you going to force VW to keep making cars nobody wants to buy?

There is no choice here. So look for a scapegoat: China.

Time to Blame Foreigners

The core problem of Germany and the EU is they are both stuck in the past. Eurointelliligence mentioned this yesterday.

That was prophetic. Here’s an amazing rant blaming China.

Sorry State of Affairs in the EU

Innovation in the EU is in dead industries: Analog phones and diesel (by cheating).

The EU still strives to protect the small French farm. The EU lags the US and China on AI, EVs, phones, space exploration, and satellite launching.

Since the EU has zero participation in AI, it hope to regulate AI to death.

The only innovation we have seen in Germany is in diesel cheating.

Sorry Germany, Diesel is Dead

Flashback April 28, 2018: Bosch Announces Better Diesel Engine: Sorry Germany, Diesel is Dead

Yes the future is electric.

My problem is not with the future, it has always been the path to get there on absurd schedules forced by the government with an infrastructure that still isn’t in place.

Biden mandated full electric instead of letting manufacturers develop hybrids. Losses have been immense.

Here’s a snip from Eurointelligence in my 2018 post.

Germany and the EU are still focused on the past and hoping to prevent an AI future. But good news, a scapegoat has been successfully identified.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvdia could not exist in the EU because the regulators would have broken them up in the name of competition before they ever got big enough to be meaningful.

For Volkswagen, the Bumpy Road to Electric Vehicles Starts to Hit Home

The Wall Street Journal reports For Volkswagen, the Bumpy Road to Electric Vehicles Starts to Hit Home

Meanwhile, back in the US …

Ford Loses $132,000 on Each EV Produced

On April 26, I reported Ford Loses $132,000 on Each EV Produced, Good News, EV Sales Down 20 Percent

Ford Cancels Plans for Electric SUV, Expects a $1.9 Billion Loss

On August 21, I noted Ford Cancels Plans for Electric SUV, Expects a $1.9 Billion Loss

Lesson of the Day

Government setting outrageous goals, then telling business how they must deliver them never works very well.

Despite huge subsidies, Ford still cannot make ends meet on EVs.

Yet, due to government coercion, Ford is forced to try, try, and try again. If and when Ford succeeds, it will have more production capacity than it needs because EVs have less parts and are easier to build.