Germany Has Some Catching Up to Do in Certain Future Industries

Abstract

The German economy is faced with tremendous challenges in order to remain competitive. Traditionally strong sectors such as the automotive industry and mechanical engineering are in a phase of upheaval due to new, disruptive technologies, the fight against climate change and revised regulatory frameworks. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming many industrial sectors into “smart industries”. At the same time, competence in cross-sectional technologies such as cloud computing and cyber security is gaining in importance, as these are crucial for the effective use of AI. This article analyses the competitive position of the German economy in 15 future sectors and 4 cross-sectional technologies that could see their combined market potential rise to over USD 15 trillion over the next 10 years. The evidence indicates that the German economy has a lot of catching up to do in certain forward-looking sectors.