Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Associations of the German Furniture Industry, commented today on the announcement of the specific design of the government purchase incentive for electric cars as follows:
© die Möbelindustrie
Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Association of the German Furniture Industry.
"The furniture industry is clearly opposed to the promotion of electric cars. This type of government-directed consumption does more harm than good: it reduces planning security and the willingness to innovate in other sectors in Germany. Moreover, the 'Construction and Interior' cluster, with around 1 million employees, is just as significant and innovative a pillar of the German economy as the automotive industry.
With this one-sided support, the federal government shifts consumers' spending toward car purchases, while other industries continue to suffer from restrained demand. Consumers can only spend their money once. In 2009, the scrappage premium at that time caused a 10 percent drop in sales for the German furniture industry.
Instead of setting short-term purchase incentives for individual products and thereby playing industries against each other, policymakers should rely on recognised measures to stimulate the economy: promote housing construction, reduce the burden of taxes and social contributions, and enable urgently needed deregulation to finally restore economic growth and consumer confidence. The entire country would benefit from this, not just a single industry."
More information:
Associations of the German Furniture Industry
www.moebelindustrie.de
www.vhk-herford.de
