Friday, March 13, 2026

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Auto Industry Strain -Business- Mar 13, 2026

Volkswagen and BMW Signal Another Tough Year for German Carmakers

Senior executives and workers walk past a row of premium cars outside a modern German auto plant on a grey morning.

A rain-darkened factory forecourt and a line of premium vehicles reflect the pressure facing Germany’s car industry. / AI Generated

Volkswagen and BMW have reported weaker results and warned that tariffs, China and restructuring pressures will keep 2026 challenging.

Marvin

Analysis & Opinion

The second read

A Deutsche Bahn ICE train arrives at a major German station on a wet evening while passengers wait on the platform and railway staff stand nearby.

Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance unit reportedly pushed group loss to €2.3 billion

Deutsche Bahn is said to have posted a €2.3 billion net loss for 2025 after persistent delays in its long-distance business forced a major write-down.

Senior executives and workers walk past a row of premium cars outside a modern German auto plant on a grey morning.

Volkswagen and BMW Signal Another Tough Year for German Carmakers

Volkswagen and BMW have reported weaker results and warned that tariffs, China and restructuring pressures will keep 2026 challenging.

A Meta sign in the foreground with a blurred WhatsApp logo in the background, symbolizing regulatory pressure on platform access in Europe.

Meta opens WhatsApp in the EU to rival AI chatbots after antitrust pressure

Meta has agreed to allow competing AI chatbots onto WhatsApp in the EU for 12 months, though critics argue its pricing model could still limit competition.

Stylized view of Earth from orbit with satellites and floating data overlays showing terrain mapping and urban analysis.

Another Earth Raises €3.5 Million to Scale Synthetic Satellite Data Platform

Vienna-based startup Another Earth has secured €3.5 million to expand its AI-driven synthetic earth observation platform and accelerate international growth.

Latest Stories

What moved the newsroom

Crowds gather inside a large conference hall as speakers appear on stage during the Start Summit in St. Gallen.

Start Summit draws global startup crowd to St. Gallen

The student-run Start Summit will bring more than 7,000 founders, investors and young talents from over 30 countries to St. Gallen on March 19 and 20 for a program focused on deep tech, European innovation and startup growth.

Editorial-style image of two professionals reviewing Green Startup Report 2026 findings on a large screen in a modern office, with renewable energy imagery and a downward trend chart.

Green startup scene grows in Germany as new company formation slows

Germany’s green startup ecosystem is still growing, but the Green Startup Report 2026 says new venture creation has recently lost momentum despite rising demand for climate technologies.

Microsoft Copilot Health dashboard showing a user health prompt, step count, sleep data and a cardiology follow-up reminder on a desktop screen.

Microsoft launches Copilot Health for consumer medical questions

Microsoft has unveiled Copilot Health, a consumer AI tool that can connect to medical records, lab results and wearable data to answer health questions in a separate Copilot workspace.

A Deutsche Bahn ICE train arrives at a major German station on a wet evening while passengers wait on the platform and railway staff stand nearby.

Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance unit reportedly pushed group loss to €2.3 billion

Deutsche Bahn is said to have posted a €2.3 billion net loss for 2025 after persistent delays in its long-distance business forced a major write-down.

Senior executives and workers walk past a row of premium cars outside a modern German auto plant on a grey morning.

Volkswagen and BMW Signal Another Tough Year for German Carmakers

Volkswagen and BMW have reported weaker results and warned that tariffs, China and restructuring pressures will keep 2026 challenging.

A Meta sign in the foreground with a blurred WhatsApp logo in the background, symbolizing regulatory pressure on platform access in Europe.

Meta opens WhatsApp in the EU to rival AI chatbots after antitrust pressure

Meta has agreed to allow competing AI chatbots onto WhatsApp in the EU for 12 months, though critics argue its pricing model could still limit competition.

Stylized view of Earth from orbit with satellites and floating data overlays showing terrain mapping and urban analysis.

Another Earth Raises €3.5 Million to Scale Synthetic Satellite Data Platform

Vienna-based startup Another Earth has secured €3.5 million to expand its AI-driven synthetic earth observation platform and accelerate international growth.

Rows of black server racks fill a modern data center as a large digital display shows AI processing activity.

ByteDance taps Nvidia Blackwell chips in Malaysia for global AI push

ByteDance is reportedly building major AI computing capacity in Malaysia with Nvidia’s latest chips as it expands research and customer services outside China.