Photo: Thomas Schaefer/Volkswagen
Sometimes, companies ask their executives to send messages they would rather avoid. Politically speaking, a corporate statement is heavier than what someone may state. After all, it represents what the enterprise would like to express. A president’s opinion can always be dismissed as just that: an opinion. Thomas Schäfer shared one stating energy prices in Europe may render battery factories there “practically unviable.”
Although the Volkswagen brand CEO did that on his personal LinkedIn page, the text looks like a corporate message, with a branded image to illustrate the post. It highlights something Schäfer theoretically wrote himself: “Europe is not competitive in many areas. We urgently need new instruments to keep the location attractive for future technologies and jobs!”
The true text is a bit longer and does not present these sentences one after the other, which shows an editing effort that was probably done by Volkswagen professionals. That said, the warning Schäfer seems to have made personally is actually a corporate concern: the Volkswagen brand (and possibly the group) thinks that “when it comes to the cost of electricity and gas, in particular, we are losing more and more ground.”
It is easy to understand why Volkswagen preferred that to be seen as a concern emerging from its executive and not from the company itself. Gas prices are high because Germany bet on buying it from Russia instead of allowing a gas pipeline from the Iberian peninsula, as Bruno Maçães reminded on Twitter not that long ago. If Germany and France at least had that option instead of relying solely on Russia, they would not be in the dire situation they are facing today.
Energy security is what Schäfer (Volkswagen) is urging Europe to achieve in his LinkedIn post. He did not mention that, but deactivating nuclear facilities (carbon-neutral energy sources) is also equivalent to shooting Europe in the foot. It is also a bizarre move from European green parties: instead of nuclear, they prefer to burn Russian fossil fuels to generate electricity. Explicitly saying that would make Robert Habeck mad: Germany’s vice-chancellor belongs to the Green Party, which has been promising to get rid of nuclear power for years.
That said, it was up to Schäfer to say that “Germany and the European Union are rapidly losing their attractiveness and competitiveness. The USA, Canada, China, Southeast Asia and regions like North Africa are forging ahead.” In the Volkswagen brand’s words, “we are treading water.” That may force the company to build its battery factories elsewhere. No one can say that Volkswagen or its executives did not try to warn European politicians about that.
The true text is a bit longer and does not present these sentences one after the other, which shows an editing effort that was probably done by Volkswagen professionals. That said, the warning Schäfer seems to have made personally is actually a corporate concern: the Volkswagen brand (and possibly the group) thinks that “when it comes to the cost of electricity and gas, in particular, we are losing more and more ground.”
It is easy to understand why Volkswagen preferred that to be seen as a concern emerging from its executive and not from the company itself. Gas prices are high because Germany bet on buying it from Russia instead of allowing a gas pipeline from the Iberian peninsula, as Bruno Maçães reminded on Twitter not that long ago. If Germany and France at least had that option instead of relying solely on Russia, they would not be in the dire situation they are facing today.
Energy security is what Schäfer (Volkswagen) is urging Europe to achieve in his LinkedIn post. He did not mention that, but deactivating nuclear facilities (carbon-neutral energy sources) is also equivalent to shooting Europe in the foot. It is also a bizarre move from European green parties: instead of nuclear, they prefer to burn Russian fossil fuels to generate electricity. Explicitly saying that would make Robert Habeck mad: Germany’s vice-chancellor belongs to the Green Party, which has been promising to get rid of nuclear power for years.
That said, it was up to Schäfer to say that “Germany and the European Union are rapidly losing their attractiveness and competitiveness. The USA, Canada, China, Southeast Asia and regions like North Africa are forging ahead.” In the Volkswagen brand’s words, “we are treading water.” That may force the company to build its battery factories elsewhere. No one can say that Volkswagen or its executives did not try to warn European politicians about that.
Reminder that for two decades France and Germany blocked gas pipelines from Iberian peninsula (Algeria and LNG) as it would increase competition in the European market for the incumbents…
— Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) April 9, 2022
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