Ford Germany CEO: We're Not Calling For Government Aid

[FarCenter]

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3813452,00.html

The head of Ford Germany, Bernhard Mattes, told DW-TV why he's rejecting a government bailout for his struggling industry, but still supports a concerted European effort to help carmakers get back on their feet.

DW-TV: Mr. Mattes, you're the boss of more than 24,000 workers building cars for Ford here in Germany. Recently your turnover has dropped dramatically, why is that?

Bernhard Mattes: The financial crisis around the world and here in Europe -- and the real estate crisis -- have unsettled consumers, so they're buying less. We don't just produce cars here for Germany, but for other European markets too -- that's forced us to scale back our overall production.

How bad is the situation? Can you still sleep well at night?

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Smaller models like the Ford Fiesta are popular in Europe
Yes, I do sleep well. You need to regenerate in order to tackle the challenges with renewed vigor. We have an excellent range of models and a strong European sales structure. These have allowed us to do relatively well, despite a drop in demand. We're the second-strongest car brand in Europe and we've also been able to achieve growth in Germany, which is positive, but we're adapting our production to the overall demand.


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