German car industry sees itself threatened by stricter CO2 limits planned by the European Commission, Volkmar Denner, head of German car part supplier Bosch, has told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

“Such demanding limit values mean the end of the classic internal combustion engine with corresponding effects on employment in the companies concerned,” Denner said following announcements of around 3,500 job cuts in the company over the last few weeks. With the Commission’s plans in mind, one should begin to think about support for structural change in Germany’s car producing regions, Denner also said. The Bosch head called for the CO2 balance of the entire car production chain to be taken into account as this would give optimised combustion engines, fuel cells and synthetic fuels a chance again, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine, quoted by CLEW.

Germany’s cherished car industry has set out to shift from high-end combustion engines, its traditional strength, to electric cars. This move, together with the digitalisation of mobility, however, requires changes to the workforce and production processes with far-reaching implications for the numerous suppliers.