Made for Germany Secures €631bn

Made for Germany is the headline of a corporate pledge that seeks to turn sentiment into activity: 61 companies and investors say they will commit €631 billion to projects in Germany over the next three years. The alliance, presented at the Chancellery on July 21, brings together groups that account for roughly a third of national output and states a clear aim to raise growth, strengthen competitiveness and extend technological leadership. The announcement meets a country that is entering a third year without growth and posted the lowest investment ratio among the 38 OECD economies in 2024. The central question is whether Made for Germany can shift that pattern and lift private investment on a sustained basis.

Scale and membership of Made for Germany

The Made for Germany roster spans flagship industrial, financial and tech names: Airbus, BASF, BMW, Deutsche Börse, Mercedes‑Benz, Rheinmetall, SAP and Volkswagen are joined by international investors and technology leaders such as Nvidia, BlackRock and Blackstone. The package bundles both new and already announced projects. Executives argue that reaffirming earlier plans, coupled with additional commitments, signals confidence and locks in capital for plants, machinery, equipment and research and development on German soil. Organisers expect more firms to sign on as procedures are clarified and public co‑financing lines open.

Government context behind Made for Germany

The new federal coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD, in office since early May, has put reviving the economy at the top of its agenda and tied that priority to Made for Germany. Parliament has authorised a €500 billion special fund to renew transport links, expand power grids, accelerate digitisation and back research. An industry electricity price cut is prepared, and a major tax package is staged in two steps: immediate, very generous depreciation for investments in production assets and R&D, followed by a mid‑term reduction in corporate tax. The government presents the corporate alliance and the public fund as complementary levers to crowd in private money and shorten project timelines.

Why the mood shifted toward Made for Germany

Company leaders say the policy stance is moving faster than in recent years, creating a window for decisions. Siemens chief executive Roland Busch speaks of a new form of cooperation with politics, while Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing calls the initiative a signal that Germany is again worth the effort for long‑term capital. Chancellor Friedrich Merz describes the combined commitments as one of the largest investment drives in decades and repeats the message that Germany is back. The optics are positive, but officials and economists stress that the decisive test will be quarterly data and the pace at which administrative barriers fall.

Pressures that Made for Germany must overcome

The shocks of recent years still shape boardroom calculations. The pandemic fractured supply chains, the war in Ukraine pushed energy costs higher, inflation squeezed margins, and weaker growth in China cut orders in core export markets. Domestic indicators remain soft, and the tariff stance in Washington raises new uncertainty for a trade‑dependent economy. The OECD singles out social‑insurance spending and underinvestment as structural hurdles. For Made for Germany to translate into a durable recovery, companies will need reliability on energy, tax and regulation as well as clearer paths through planning and permitting.

Social systems weigh on costs and on confidence

Germany channels about 42 percent of its economic output into social spending. Pension funds are the largest driver as the population ages and baby‑boomer cohorts retire. Contributions to statutory health insurance rose at the start of this year, and long‑term care contributions are expected to increase in 2026. Employers and employees split these levies, lifting labour costs. The OECD calls reform of social insurance the biggest challenge for the location. The government says the next major package on its agenda is social‑state reform, with initial results due in the coming months. Business groups view this track as essential for the credibility of Made for Germany.

Business succession gap threatens capacity

A new DIHK report warns that Germany is running out of entrepreneurs to take over existing firms. Based on more than 50,000 consultations at chambers of industry and commerce, the gap between owners seeking a successor and potential buyers has almost doubled since 2019. Across the country, around 9,600 companies looking for succession face only about 4,000 interested parties. More than a quarter of owners are already considering shutting down. Extrapolated, up to 250,000 firms could be at risk over the next decade if no successors are found. That would hit value chains, increase vacancy in high streets and weaken rural communities where a single inn or workshop often serves as a social hub.

Sectors with the sharpest shortage of successors

Hospitality and retail show the most acute mismatch, with more than three times as many companies on offer as candidates. In transport, the ratio rises to around four to one. Even in services and IT, supply outweighs interest by roughly two to one. The DIHK links the widening gap to demographics but also to a prolonged period of recessionary pressure, higher prices for energy, labour and raw materials, and uncertainty about the outlook. A tight labour market allows capable candidates to negotiate attractive salaried roles without taking entrepreneurial risk. This structural stress sits in the background of Made for Germany and illustrates why investment plans must be paired with measures that keep thousands of viable small and medium‑sized firms alive.

What chambers propose to stabilise succession

Chambers call for simpler, faster and more predictable procedures. Their suggestions include a single state contact point to register a business transfer, practical rules for using existing customer and supplier data after handover, and streamlined approvals for building changes. They also argue for a time‑limited general protection for newly acquired firms, comparable to the idea of “founder protection zones”, so that new owners can focus on stabilising and reorienting operations before dealing with a stack of new permits. Such steps would complement Made for Germany by ensuring that capital spending at large groups ripples through to suppliers instead of being blocked by administrative friction.

Signals from industry about the starting point

The chemical and pharmaceutical sector, often treated as an economic seismograph, reports strained conditions and warns of relocations and insolvencies if costs and bureaucracy remain high. Executives insist that Made for Germany will gain traction only if reforms reduce the burden on work and capital. They underline that the seven to eight percent shortfall in business investment compared with 2019 must be erased and surpassed, not just narrowed temporarily by one‑off projects.

Risks that could derail the investment drive

Trade tensions with the United States are a central concern. Business leaders caution that repeated tariff threats raise the probability of a global downturn and complicate planning for export‑heavy industries. Domestically, the danger is a short‑lived surge in orders followed by disappointment if structural reforms stall. Analysts will therefore track three markers: whether gross fixed capital formation rises decisively above the 2019 baseline; whether sentiment indicators such as ifo business climate converge with production and orders; and whether approval times for energy, transport and industrial projects fall in measurable steps. The credibility of Made for Germany depends on those outcomes.

How success would be felt by workers and regions

If the initiative delivers, its clearest signals would be new hiring rounds, stronger apprenticeship intake, and a noticeable pipeline of supplier contracts across regions. Towns that have struggled with closures and vacancies would gain from successors taking over local firms rather than shutting them down. A rising cadence of grid upgrades, rail works and research projects would indicate that the public fund and Made for Germany are reinforcing each other. For expats and international investors, the combination of large‑scale corporate commitments, a focused reform plan and simplified procedures would lower entry barriers and raise the visibility of opportunities across manufacturing, energy, software and defence‑related technologies.