British car manufacturers didn’t need Germany to dismantle themselves. The only reason you even have a car industry left is because German companies came in, bought up those husks of mismanagement out of (near) bankruptcy, and turned them around.
Long story short: Don’t let nobs run your companies. They were as good at deciding what customers want as Homer Simpson is at designing a car and caused strike after strike by being, well, arrogant nobs telling the peasants to eat cake.
Correct, that was the thinking what had happened at the time but when you realise VWs were being sold about 5k below market cost you realise there was no competing. Look deeper.
If you mean “German cars were cheaper” there’s an easy explanation: Unlike the UK ones German manufacturers managed to introduce automation by negotiating its introduction with the workers, who realised that it’s necessary to keep the industry but got concessions such as automation first being used for the most back-breaking stuff, not what would save the most money. Meanwhile, in the UK, well, strikes. Strikes, strikes, and strikes.
I’d like to see a source on the below market cost bit, and even if why didn’t the UK simply outlaw it. But yes German industry played it fast and loose back then, e.g. it didn’t became illegal under German law to bribe foreigners abroad until 2000, on the contrary you would get a tax write-off. Not like the UK operated a different regime, though, you simply weren’t as good at it when it came to cars. You’re more into the tax haven kind of business, shuffling money discretely to crown dependencies which unlike manufacturing is not dependent on riffraff workers.
No, Germany’s government colluded with the manufacturers to charge them less tax to purposefully give them an advantage. By about £5k. You’re not providing sources for your claims so I don’t feel obliged to.
