Mainz Carnival parade float throws shade at German EV industry

The float shows China prepared to lead the world market with a constant stream of new electric cars, while the German automotive industry is hiding behind an outdated "open to technology" approach. This (not so unrealistic) image was conveyed by a float in the Rose Monday parade in Mainz. In the supporting role: a Stone Age BMW.

Everyone gets their comeuppance at Carnival – including the economy as well as politics. And so yesterday’s traditional Rose Monday parade in Mainz featured a themed float depicting the current race for technological leadership in the car of the future – admittedly somewhat exaggerated.

In the leading role, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping drives ahead in an electric car as the German car industry follows behind as Fred Flintstone in a Stone Age mobile, looking dazed.

The most telling detail is the wooden rim, which is adorned with a BMW logo. This is of course a little unfair, given that the Munich-based company can boast a broad range of electric cars and is completely converting its main plant in the Bavarian capital to electric mobility. But perhaps the years of loud calls for “technological openness” from BMW’s upper echelons have inspired the Mainz carnivalists to let Fred Flintstone take the wheel.

mainzund.de, rundschau-online.de (both in German)