Combustion motors lose importance as job engine in Germany, EVs take role over – report

Car industry firms that focus on electric engines are looking to employ far more people in Germany than those that rely on combustion engine technology, according to a report published by the Institute for Economic Research (ifo) in cooperation with online job portal Indeed. “While labour demand followed a similar trajectory until spring 2019, since then the demand of companies focusing on electromobility has been 34 to 50 percentage points higher on average than for companies focusing primarily on conventional engines,” ifo said, adding that the difference reflects the profound structural shift in the automotive industry. “The combustion engine as the classic domain of German engineering loses importance as a job driver,” Indeed economist Annina Hering commented.

Professions, such as software specialists, are becoming increasingly important in the industry given the rising focus on infotainment and automated driving, ifo said. “The structural transformation requires fundamentally new business models that are more digital, for example leading to sales strategies with more direct marketing,” said Moritz Goldbeck, co-author of the report, which examined 1.5 million online job ads from more than 2,000 companies in the sector, which were classified according to the firms’ patent portfolios in powertrain technologies.

Ifo said the current slowdown in the sales of electric cars is already reflected in the data, as the labour demand difference between companies focusing on electric cars and those specialising in combustion engines has narrowed this year following a peak of 60 percent in late 2023. “Current weak consumer demand and the renewed discussion about the phase-out of internal combustion vehicles are causing increased uncertainty and slow down the transformation to electromobility noticeably,” Ifo said.