Volkswagen open to building military equipment for German army

Sander Tordoir, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, said building military equipment could provide “a new line of business” for struggling carmakers.

Pledges to stoke German consumer demand by easing “debt brake” budget rules and unleashing government stimulus were unlikely to push factories back up to full capacity, he added.

“They can do both. Germany has lost half its net car exports, so there is lots of idle capacity to ramp up electric vehicle and military production,” Mr Tordoir said.