After a dramatic slump in 2018, the business climate has tended to stabilise in Germany over the last few months, which suggests that the bad news (slowing global growth, geopolitical risks) is now largely anticipated by companies. But industry is the exception, and particularly the flagship of the German industry, namely the automotive sector. This sector had a number of one-off disruptions to deal with in 2018 but it faces structural challenges in the medium term. Its weight in the German economy is disproportionately large compared to the norm elsewhere in Europe. That risks holding back the recovery in activity