Monographie_Saarland

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Präsentation des neuen in Saarlouis produzierten Ford „Focus“
Presentation of the new Ford “Focus” made in Saarlouis
AUTOMOTIVE STRUCTURAL CHANGE: OUTLOOK IN THE SAARLAND
It took expertise, vision and courage for the economic
strategy in the Saarland to change course so drastically
about fifty years ago. By attracting automotive big players
such as Ford, Michelin or ZF, decisive steps were taken
towards the inevitable structural change.
Today the former mining state is one of Germany’s strongest
automotive locations. More than 44,000 employees work in
260 companies. In relation to the number of inhabitants, this
means that more people are involved in the various aspects
of car manufacturing than anywhere else in the country. The
local workers not only make the cars. Above all, they supply
necessary parts, components and units as well as the tools
and manufacturing machinery needed for production.
Altogether the automotive sector in the Saarland generates
around 17 billion Euro in turnover every year, with 5 billion
Euro value creation in the state. It is totally justified to say
that the automotive industry in the Saarland forms the backbone
of the economy here.
The automotive industry is a global growth branch: by 2030,
vehicle production should increase from 90 million units to
120 million by 2030, so that the Saarland is actually in a good
starting position. But before the market ramp-up happens,
the branch will have to deal with numerous new tech -
nological aspects which constitute huge global and regional
challenges. Electromobility in particular is a growing drive
technology with a direct impact on Saarland’s automotive
companies. At least half of the Saarland workforce is involved
in manufacturing components for the combustion
engine, supplying engine blocks, injectors, valve and fingertype
rockers, diesel components, crankshafts, automatic
transmissions and exhaust systems. By contrast, there are
not many suppliers of electric motor components up to
now. Even if all production sites for combustion engine
components in the Saarland were able to divert their exper -
tise to work as suppliers for electric vehicles in future, there
would still be a marked decrease in the share of value
creation. After all, the production of electric motors is far less
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