Just 5 years ago the economic crisis hit the world, and American carmakers like GM and Chrysler looked as if they were about to be wiped out. But a Lazarus like recovery has been made, resulting in a buoyant US car market that saw 14.5m car sales in 2012.
Over in Europe the story couldn’t be more different. In the UK Honda’s Swindon plant will be shedding 800 jobs, while factory closures in Aulnay in France, Gent in Belgium and Bochum in Germany have hit, or will hit, communities hard.
At the heart of the problem is demand, which has risen in the States and dropped off dramatically in Europe. Some critics say that Obama’s policy of investment in the US economy helped to keep demand for new cars high, while Europe’s vast cost-cutting exercises have dramatically reduced consumer confidence – made much worse by the Eurozone crisis.
When European car plant workers look across the pond and see US carmakers doing so well despite the shaky economic outlook, some may well wonder if Europe chose the right tactic. With 14.5m car sales in the US in 2012, figures are within spitting distance of the 17m pre-crisis output levels – a fact that many European workers will find extraordinary. They will perhaps hope that Europe’s leaders take a leaf or two out of the Obama administration’s book - the members of whom have arguably acted as vehicle recovery operators for America's previously ailing car industry.
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