From steel to software: can Germany maintain its relevance in a new paradigm?

Germany's links to the automotive industry are strong, arguably the strongest historically of any country thanks in part to Karl Benz. This German native is largely credited as the inventor of the first practical motorised vehicle, for which he received a patent in 1886. Over the following decades the country saw the emergence of several major automotive brands and secured a reputation for high-quality mechanical engineering that is second to none. Today the automotive industry employs more than 834,100 people in Germany, with an additional one million employed at German-owned locations overseas. It's clearly a powerhouse of employment, and with annual sales of €425bn (US$485bn), it’s also a powerhouse of revenue.