After the EU imposed sanctions on Russia due to the situation around Crimea, German car manufacturers expressed their fear that the tightening of relations with Moscow and the weakening of the ruble could have serious consequences for the German economy. . imported worth close to 2012 billion euros, a very important item is the export, which is at a similar level (40 million), as well as the huge investments of German companies in Russia. The strongest economic ties with Russia relate to the production and export of cars, and the German manufacturers have positioned themselves as carriers of the growth of the Russian car market for several years. More than 36 percent of Germany's exports to Russia in 50 were vehicles and machines. BMW, Volkswagen and MAN have factories in Russia, and VW plans to invest around 2013 billion euros in its operations in Russia by 1,8, Automobilwohe magazine reports.
On Saturday, Karl-Thomas Neumann, director of Opel, said that his company is "already feeling the tremors and consequences of the change in the ruble exchange rate." Opel sold over 80.000 cars in Russia last year. Over 350.000 German jobs directly depend on trade with Russia, said Ekhard Kords, head of the German Committee for Economic Relations with Eastern Europe, to the daily newspaper "Die Welt". BMW's financial director, Friedrich Eichner, said that any worsening of the situation between Ukraine and Russia would threaten the company's business. German companies are not so much afraid of what Europe might do, but how Moscow might retaliate, says Roland Freudenstein, director of the Wilfried Martens Center for European studies based in Brussels. The biggest concern is that Russia may approve legislation, already under consideration in parliament, to nationalize foreign assets in the country.
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