Baden-Württemberg is boosting future mobility
The State of Baden-Württemberg, situated in the South-West of Germany, is well known for its automotive industry and especially for the production of premium cars and engineering. Over the past 130 years, the region has gone from the cradle of the automobile industry to a major automotive ecosystem. Baden-Württemberg is one of the world’s leading centres of the automobile industry, with a fully developed ‘automotive sector’ that covers the entire value chain of automobile production, ancillary services and suppliers from the mechanical and plant engineering sectors. The three Baden-Württemberg-based manufacturers (OEMs) are classed as belonging to the premium segment, and numerous suppliers specialise in powertrains. In addition to that, many small and medium sized enterprises and hidden champions are situated in Baden-Württemberg. In 2016, about 470,000 people were working directly or indirectly in the Baden-Württemberg automotive sector. This is equivalent to about 11 % of all employees with social insurance cover in the State of Baden-Württemberg. Electric mobility is a megatrend, which, along with connected vehicles, driverless cars and digitalised vehicle production is set to transform the way we use and manufacture vehicles over the next few years. The electrification of the powertrain, in particular, is changing existing value creation and employment structures in the automobile industry, as traditional components such as combustion engines lose significance, while new electric mobility components become more important. This transformation is being driven primarily by passenger car markets in Asia, with China being the prime mover. For Baden-Württemberg it is important to actively face this transformation and structural change and make use of its economic opportunities. In order to support all involved stakeholders from industry and research in Baden-Württemberg in this transformation process, the State of Baden-Württemberg founded the State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive Baden-Würrtemberg – e-mobil BW in 2010. In a network with partners from industry, research and public institutions, it takes a hand in shaping the future for an automated, connected and electric mobility in a viable energy system. Open to all kind of technologies, e-mobil BW GmbH acts as a driver in the industrialisation, market launch and application of sustainable, climate compatible and locally zero-emission mobility solutions. To this effect, it strengthens the Land Baden-Württemberg as a centre for industrial and scientific innovation. In addition to that, e-mobil BW is coordinating since 2010 the „Cluster Electric Mobility South-West“ (Cluster ESW). The cluster pools more than 140 stakeholders from industry and science. Sustainable electric mobility calls for new approaches and integrates solution elements of technology fields such as vehicle, energy, information and communications technologies (ICT) and production. The guiding concept of the Cluster ESW simultaneously stands for the automobile and mobility of the future. Connecting these industries through the cluster is the key to overcome numerous obstacles on the way to implement e-mobility. In the cluster, we succeed in joining up large, medium-sized and small companies across industries with research institutes to form a unique, sustainably grown and extremely stable cooperation network as well as speeding up research and development. The collaboration is driven by common projects, working groups and networking. In 2012, the cluster successfully participated in the Leading-edge Cluster Competition organized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and secured additional funding for research projects on the development of large-scale electric vehicle production, the manufacturing process of future vehicles itself as well as charging technologies and IT solutions. Logo Cluster Electric Mobility Soth-West – Foto: (c) e-mobil BW / KD Busch In the new released study of e-mobil BW „Structural Study BWe mobil 2019“[1] the effects of the of the transformation process on the automotive industry in Baden-Württemberg was analysed. One of the main outcomes is, that the growth of the market for new components for electric mobility, and the parallel decline in demand for conventional components will, depending on the scenario, result in between a 1.9 % increase in overall employment (+8,900 jobs) and a 6.6 % cut in employment (-30,800 jobs) by 2030. These impacts on employment can be considered moderate for Baden-Württemberg’s automobile sector as a whole. However, this will only apply if the cluster is able to retain its worldwide leading role in innovation also for alternative powertrain technologies, and if it can obtain market shares for the new components comparable to their market shares in conventional components today. For this, concentrated efforts will be needed on the part of all actors in the sector, along with active industrial policy support to retain the special status of the Baden-Württemberg automotive cluster. Although the positive and negative impacts on employment more or less offset one another for the sector as a whole, the impacts will be very unevenly distributed. The true impact of employment trends thus only becomes apparent when the single production plants in Baden-Württemberg that depend directly on the powertrain are taken into account, with a total workforce of 70,000 employees. The transformation of Baden-Württemberg’s automotive industry as a whole will only be possible if corporate strategies and the flanking industry policy measures also take into account the imperatives of ensuring the sustainable development of Baden-Württemberg’s (manufacturing) sites and if employees are involved in the transformation. Baden-Württemberg’s place as a leading centre of industrial innovation must be secured. This will only be possible if corporate as well as location and site strategies are geared to achieving this development goal. The strategies must be paired with the will on the part of the workforce to embrace change and have the support of the political level and of the science and research community. Ensuring lasting prospects of employment can be an important element in overcoming any reluctance on the part of the workforce to accept change. It is not the transition to electric mobility per se that could jeopardise the economic strength of Baden-Württemberg, but the failure to grasp the opportunity to shape the transition and actively develop the sector. To understand the international trends in automotive industry, it is worthwhile to see the big picture. On the basis of the internationalisation strategy,
