German auto woes linked to weak Chinese demand: economy minister

Most of the German automotive industry's problems are due to weak demand from China and there are no signs of this changing in the short-term, economy minister Robert Habeck said on Monday as Berlin mulls options to support its automobile industry.

“The global economy is in a phase of weakness and this is complicated for the German economy, which is particularly strong in exports,” Habeck said after talks with the automobile industry to discuss structural challenges to a wider electric mobility rollout.