Industrial production has fallen for 4 straight years, worse than the 2008 crash or the 2020 Covid shock.

Auto sector meltdown: 49,000 jobs lost in one year, a “social bloodletting” for a sector employing over a million people.

Growth is stuck at 0%, below the EU average.

Public debt rising (65% of GDP).

The BDI describes an “economy in free fall.”

Energy shock after losing Russian gas, with soaring industrial power costs.

Green transition pressure: Germany lags China in EVs and batteries as the 2035 ban on combustion engines approaches.

Global competition: China in exports, the U.S. with IRA subsidies.

Demographics & bureaucracy: aging workers, higher wages, slow administrative processes.

This marks the end of Germany’s export-driven boom (40% of GDP).

Rising unemployment (projected 6% in 2026).

Political pressure on the Scholz coalition to launch an “industrial Marshall Plan.”

EU impact: Germany drags down European growth while France gains ground in aerospace and services.