For all its talk of radical change, Volkswagen's cost-cutting deal in Germany relies heavily on the automaker's tradition of cooperation between managers and workers, according to details disclosed by company sources.

Chinese officials and automakers are eyeing German factories slated for closure and are particularly interested in Volkswagen's sites , a person with knowledge of Chinese government thinking told Reuters.

Car giant VW to wind down production at 2 factories; China could buy factories for foothold in Germany. Read more at straitstimes.com.

VW produces and sells vehicles around the world. Its Germanness is an important selling point, but the company is equally at home in China, Brazil and the US. Its dependence on foreign markets may soon come to bite.

Chinese investors and officials are considering purchasing German automotive factories that are on the brink of closure, with a particular focus on those owned by Volkswagen, reported Reuters.

Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe, contracted for the second year in a row in 2024, official data showed Wednesday, underscoring the challenges facing the region as it tries to get economic growth back on track.

Chinese officials are eyeing Germany's automotive sector, seeking to acquire factories like Volkswagen's to avoid EU tariffs on electric vehicles.

CFO Arno Antlitz, speaking to investors in New York on Tuesday, said that the cost-cutting deal struck with unions last December tackled the carmaker's problems of high labour costs and capacity underutilisation.

German carmaker Volkswagen expects to make further savings from 2027 from an overhaul of the company's wage structure, following major concessions from Volkswagen's workforce in a recent collective bargaining deal.

The ailing German brand, facing plant closures at home and declining sales of its once vaunted EVs, hopes the ID. Buzz can revitalize consumer interest.

Volkswagen is exploring alternative uses for its Dresden and Osnabrueck factories under a cost-cutting drive to pare back its German operations. Europe's biggest automaker, which owns brands including Porsche, Audi and Skoda, has seen sales fall amid rising competition from Chinese companies.

"It's hard to square the super-tough narrative of having reached a tipping point and going in all guns blazing, with the agreement that came out," said Stephen Reitman, analyst at Bernstein Research who has followed Volkswagen for decades.