The bumpy road to electric mobility? Old and new challenges for automobile unionism

Taking the evolution of Volkswagen’s production model as a case study, this research aims to provide an alternative perspective on the transition to electric vehicles and the challenges it poses for trade union representatives. Contrary to the dominant discourse of disruption in the debate, the study advances the hypothesis that what we are observing is merely a continuation of a model that dates back to the early 1990s. As such, while acknowledging that the challenges faced by trade union representation do include elements of change, in essence they constitute a deepening of pre-existing challenges rather than a fundamentally new phenomenon.