BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Another difficult year is looming for the German auto industry. The industry association VDA expects around 2.7 million new registrations in Germany in 2023, as President Hildegard Müller said on Wednesday. That would be about two percent more than last year, but a quarter less than in the pre-crisis year 2019.

Although supply chain problems from the pandemic are increasingly dissipating, Müller said. But due to high demand from other industries as well, chip shortages in particular remain a problem, he said.

In addition, he said, policymakers have yet to find a structural response to the energy crisis. "So far, crisis policy has essentially only dealt with the acute impact of the energy crisis," Müller criticized. Concepts for a long-term and secure energy supply were missing. In terms of costs, he said, manufacturers and suppliers had long since reached the peak of their burdens.

Because important industrial policy reforms are not being implemented, Germany and Europe are in danger of losing out to international competition. Müller referred to the investment plans of the U.S. government for industry, renewable energies and infrastructure.

It is true that the protectionist plans contradict the transatlantic partnership. Nevertheless, the U.S. is investing in energy fields of the future, Müller stressed. "In doing so, they are enabling the expansion of a highly modern, resilient and CO2-neutral industry." This should be a wake-up call for Germany and Europe. Tax burdens and energy prices are too high by international standards, he said. With regard to resources for electric cars, a raw materials strategy is lacking. The gap between newly registered e-cars and available charging points is widening.

In view of these problems, Müller defended the top-level meeting of the automotive industry with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. Rail and bicycle associations had criticized that important modes of transport away from cars had been excluded. "An opposition is being constructed here that I really think is difficult," Mueller said. "We would be happy if we had more traffic on rail." Still, he said, there also needs to be talks with an industrial policy focus.

By 2030, the German government wants to see around 15 million pure battery cars on the road. On the part of manufacturers, this can be achieved, Müller emphasized. The ramp-up of production is satisfying. Last year, half a million new battery cars were put on the road, around a third more than in the previous year. The share of new registrations was just under 18 percent. The VDA did not give a forecast on Wednesday of how the figures might develop this year./maa/DP/mis