On the occasion of the Federal Cabinet's decision to extend tax incentives for electric cars as company vehicles, Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Associations of the German Furniture Industry, comments: 'From our point of view, it is difficult to understand why the German automotive industry and its large corporations are once again receiving short-term state subsidies, while residential construction and the downstream medium-sized sectors have been struggling with weak demand for years. The Construction and Furnishing Cluster employs over one million people, significantly more than the automotive industry and its suppliers, who number around 800,000.'
Photo: Dreamstime.
He continues: 'The construction industry has been severely impacted by rising construction costs and higher interest rates. The German government's goal of completing 400,000 new apartments annually seems increasingly out of reach. The slowdown in new housing construction not only has foreseeable social consequences but also impacts downstream industries like the German furniture sector, jeopardizing jobs. Historically, each new building leads to two to three subsequent moves, accompanied by furniture purchases. This demand has now diminished. Our companies are facing a persistently weak order situation. We urge the federal government to bolster long-term demand for construction and initiate the necessary investments and facilitation for housing construction and related industries.'
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