JUNE 20, 2003

Bad news for the German motor racing industry?

The accounting firm Ernst & Young has recently conducted a series of interviews with chief executives of German automotive supply firms and 90 of the 130 interviewed say that they expect bankruptcies, mergers and sell-outs in the sector in the next two years. The automotive suppliers have been hit by demands for lower prices from automobile companies and by the decisions of German banks not to support the sector. Germany has around 3000 precision engineering firms which supply the automotive sector. Many of them are also involved in motorsport activities. The Ernst & Young study suggests that the automobile manufacturers may endanger their own existence unless they help to solve the financing problems of their suppliers and sub-contractors.