Germany

Germany's Ministry of Economics has proposed a 5 billion euro (£4.5 billion) buyer bonus scheme as part of an impending stimulus package in an effort to boost car sales, two people close to the matter said on Sunday. Global car sales have slumped as production lines and showrooms shut in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The heads of the co-governing Social Democrats (SPD) and Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are expected to present the overall stimulus package on Tuesday, which c

Germany is closely monitoring developments at Daimler after a second Chinese company moved to take a big stake in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, an economy ministry official said on Thursday. Reuters reported on Sunday that Daimler's main Chinese joint venture partner BAIC planned to double its stake to around 10% in order to upstage rival Chinese automaker Geely, which owns 9.69% of the German company. "So the Economy Ministry is naturally monitoring the situation closely," the o

Tesla plans to build 500,000 electric vehicles a year at its new factory on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany's Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday. Last month, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that a site in Gruenheide, Brandenburg, had been chosen to build Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Tesla will invest up to 4 billion euros (£3.44 billion) in the plant.

Germany on Wednesday hailed Tesla's decision to build its first European factory in the country, days after the government said it would boost subsidies for buyers of electrics cars. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier called the announcement a "glorious success" for the country's attractiveness as an auto industry location, especially in the race to develop and produce electric cars and batteries.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and defying the scorn of vehicle snobs around the world, hundreds of Germans on Saturday marked the historic event with a parade of historic Trabant cars at a former border crossing. Earlier, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the anniversary by thanking Eastern European neighbours for spurring on the peaceful revolution. The toppling of the wall, which separated the Communist-ruled East from

Under pressure from environmental protests and growing support for the opposition Green party, the German government agreed Friday on a 54 billion euro ($60 billion) package of measures for tackling climate change. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the deal hammered out by governing parties during marathon talks overnight would boost the country's contribution to fighting global warming. Europe's biggest economy aims to cut its greenhouse emissions by 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.