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Our VW tiguan was too small. So we started looking for a car for families with 3 children.

The situation for the automotive industry could not be better: worldwide demand for cars is greater than ever before. Between 2000 and 2013, global vehicle production increased by almost 50 percent – and the winners of this boom are primarily German manufacturers. Volkswagen is on its way to becoming the global sales leader, and BMW, mercedes and audi dominate the premium business.

The situation for German automotive suppliers, on the other hand, is far less comfortable, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They provide the bulk of the suppliers for the major carmakers and are increasingly overwhelmed by the rising requirements. There is a great danger that these SMEs, which form the backbone of German industry, will lose out as a result of the auto boom.

The most reliable cars have to prove themselves in the workshop and in everyday life.

According to the statistics portal statista, german car buyers in 2015 have an average of 28.590 euros spent on a new car. For used vehicles, the Germans paid around 10.620 euros on the table. These are quite high sums.

The future of the car trade agency versus authorized dealer

Corona has hit the car trade, and digitalization is also forcing the industry to rethink its approach. That’s why manufacturers are considering alternatives to the traditional sales channel. One solution: the agency model, which VW, for example, is relying on for its ID.3 sets. But what exactly is it and what are the advantages??

The corona crisis hit the automotive industry with full force. In all respects. And so the pandemic has also clearly shown the weaknesses of the car trade. The logical consequence: a high degree of pressure to adapt the business models that manufacturers are relying on in cooperation with dealers. A simple continuation of the more than one hundred year old and correspondingly proven sales representative strategy? Unthinkable at the moment, even after the pandemic has subsided. With regard to the latter, the situation does not allow any solid forecasts anyway. Advancing digitalization and the resulting changes in customer behavior – even the automotive market is not spared from online shopping – are doing the rest. The market players must act.

"agency model" this is not only the buzzword on everyone’s lips among manufacturers and dealers, but also the most promising solution for many of them. For example, at VW, where the distribution of the ID.3 as a lighthouse project for the new strategy. But what exactly distinguishes the agency model from conventional sales via authorized dealers??

customs auction: buying a car at auction can be cheap.

At customs buying a car? Does not sound so obvious at first. But in fact there is a vehicle auction. There it is then true in a certain way that you can be assigned to buy cars at customs can. These are – depending on the outcome of the auction – even significant cheaper than on the market.

There comes a time when even the german’s favorite toy breathes its last. When the car can no longer provide its services, sometimes even tears flow. No matter what the reason, at some point it’s time – the old car is scrap and must make its last journey.

Disposing of the old car the right way

According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, on 1. January 2016 on german roads 45.1 million passenger cars on the road. One of them was driven by a good friend until recently. But now it had reached its age and lived its life. She had to say goodbye. The repair costs would have far exceeded the value of the car. with a heavy heart she decided to scrap the car. She loved her car very much and couldn’t bring herself to be there when the scrap recycler came to pick it up. Even though I could not quite understand this love, I consoled her with the argument that 85 to 95% of her old car is recycled and reused become.

T he farewell to the car as we know it is coming. christian rauch is firmly convinced of this. And he also knows the answer to the key question of how and with what our grandchildren will get around: "more diverse, networked, post-fossil and shared."

Rauch is considered to be the expert who knows best what the distant automotive future will look like. since the founding of the frankfurt-based "international society for future and trend consulting" two decades ago, he and the think tank have been working on future scenarios. The topic of mobility is particularly close to the sociologist’s heart.

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the joy of driving: jay leno at the wheel of the blastolene special, a unique sports car powered by the engine of an m47 battle tank. Photo: CNBC

Jay leno, once the most successful talk show host in the u.s., devotes himself entirely to the joy of automobiles in the TV and web video format "jay leno’s garage. And in a way that even car buffs will enjoy watching.

the pair of stone martens william and kate live in an enclosure in the otter center in hankensbuttel in lower saxony. There they are in the service of research on the road. With their help, scientists want to find out which cables taste best to martens. The goal: to prevent marten damage to cars in the future.

every year, martens cause 70 million euros worth of damage to cars, says wildlife biologist hans-heinrich kruger of the otter center. Because martens love to nibble on car cables. They like to stay in cavities and especially under engine hoods – for protection from predators. To get there, the martens also like to eat their way through various cables. But martens also nibble on cables for other reasons: