Economy

Volkswagen crisis
VW factory goes into the grave – first closure in 88 years

The German automotive giant Volkswagen is forced to close a factory on its home turf in Germany for the first time in the company's 88-year history, writes the FT.

On Tuesday, the last car will be manufactured at the Dresden factory, around 20 years after it opened. The facility will instead be rented out to the city's technical university for research into AI, robotics and chip development.

Volvo Cars' future
Expecting culling: "Strange if everyone is left"

The European car industry is facing culling in the coming years, where several car brands will be eliminated. Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson tells Ekot.

- It would be quite strange if all established brands in Europe could be left in ten years, he says.

Those with strong brands and who can switch to electricity will likely remain, Samuelsson believes. For Volvo Cars itself to survive in the long term, a “clear electrification strategy” is required, he continues. 

Defense companies were pressured in Europe after Zelensky’s opening

Defense stocks in Europe are falling on a broad front after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s comments this weekend that he might consider dropping the requirement for NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees from the United States and Europe.

Germany’s Rheinmetall fell 2.8 percent while Italy’s Leonardo and Britain’s BAE Systems fell slightly.

At home, Saab looked set to bottom the OMXS30 with a loss of 1.5 percent. But the stock recovered and closed 0.1 percent higher.

Several European leaders are gathering in Berlin for peace talks on Monday, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Steve Witkoff and their delegations.