Europe's car industry crisis and the future of electrification
A crisis has been building in Europe's automotive industry over the past few years, as it has struggled to adapt to the challenges of Chinese competition and the shift to electromobility.
For a sector that employs millions of workers, this is a serious issue - for people's jobs, for Europe's industrial core, and for the green transition as a whole.
So let's unpack this complicated relationship between the woes of the car industry and the push for electrification in Europe. How much is the former due to the latter, and why has electrification not happened faster? More fundamentally, what role should EU policy be playing in this delicate balancing act between climate, social and industrial objectives?
With me today to do this unpacking are Benjamin Denis, Head of Industrial Policy Coordination at IndustriAll Europe, which is the trade union federation of industrial workers, and Tommaso Pardi, Senior Researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Director of GERPISA, the research network on the automotive industry, and contributor to the ETUI's recently published book 'Is ‘electromobility made in Europe’ still possible?'
Further reading
Is ‘electromobility made in Europe’ still possible? | etui (https://www.etui.org/publications/electromobility-made-europe-still-possible)
Is Europe on track towards net zero mobility? | etui (https://www.etui.org/publications/europe-track-towards-net-zero-mobility)
On the way to electromobility - a green(er) but more unequal future? | etui (https://www.etui.org/publications/way-electromobility-greener-more-unequal-future)
Heavier, faster and less affordable cars | etui (https://www.etui.org/publications/heavier-faster-and-less-affordable-cars)
Enough is Enough (https://news.industriall-europe.eu/p/enough-is-enough) (IndustriAll Europe campaign on the future of industry and industrial jobs in Europe)
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Who has been a guest on etui.podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Marouane Laabbas-el-Guennouni
Ivan Ivanov
Marcus Meyer-Erdmann
Sara Lafuente
Ben Wray
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YouTube views
152,055
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
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5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100
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30
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
32
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