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Audi was an "important piece of German industrial history," the Chancellor told guests who had come to join in the celebrations in Ingolstadt as well as the several thousands of members of the Audi "family" who were following the event live on the internet. But it was also a modern company that had recognised early on how important innovation was for the company's success, the Chancellor said. Having arrived in a government-owned company car - an Audi - she told the audience: "My congratulations are borne out of conviction."

The fact that the car manufacturer, which is based in southern Germany, was one of the world's technology leaders today had a lot to do with passion, she said. A passion for technology, for innovation and for meticulous precision. "That has made Audi strong," the Chancellor added.

It was not only the future of Audi, but that of the whole of the industry location, she went on to say, that was dependent on whether Germany remained a country of enquiring minds that was capable of technological innovations. 

"Crises can be turned into opportunities"

Merkel said that it was now, during this period of unprecedented economic downturn, that a new hand would be dealt, as it were, in the global economy. That was why it was important to be well-placed for what was to come after the crisis: "The state our businesses are in after the crisis will dictate how we will live in the coming decades."

Well-trained and motivated employees were indispensable for that, the Chancellor said. Extending short-time work benefits as part of the economic stimulus package would help businesses not to have to make people redundant in times when there was less work for them to do.

At Audi Merkel seemed to be preaching to the converted, though: In its anniversary year the company will be recruiting an additional 100 young men and women the Chairman of the Board, Rupert Stadler, announced.

Exporting modern mobility

The Chancellor believes that the industrialised world is on the verge of developing an entirely new type of vehicle. New drive technologies would provide enormous opportunities for German car manufacturers, she emphasised. German businesses were well-prepared. However, international competition would probably be even tougher after the crisis. "That is why research and innovation must be Germany's trademark," Angela Merkel stressed. "And where that is not yet the case or no longer the case, they will have to become it," the Chancellor told managers and engineers.

The German Government is playing its part in ensuring that Germany remains a technology leader - by making three per cent of the country's gross domestic product available to research and development, for instance. And not least by means of the High-Tech Strategy that was launched three years ago. One of the main focuses of the Strategy is new drive and storage technologies.

The German Chancellor was sure that the world would be a different place after the crisis. But she was just as convinced that people would still want individual mobility.

Audi was one of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ports of call on her tour of SMEs. The Chancellor plans to stop off at various places around Germany in order to get an idea of the overall economic situation and the situation employees find themselves in. She wants to get an impression of the way things stand by talking directly to the affected people: in large and small businesses, in various branches of industry and in various regions of eastern and western Germany.The Chancellor also wants to honour the efforts undertaken by businesses and their employees during the crisis. Thanks to support from the German Government's economic stimulus package, many businesses are still in a strong position in growth industries despite the crisis - and are thereby safeguarding jobs.