World News for Students of English

09-07-2026 07:00

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, wants to cut tens of thousands of jobs and may close some factories. The company’s CEO, Oliver Blume, says their old business model of making cars in Germany for global export doesn’t work anymore.

Volkswagen is losing customers in China, and European buyers are spending less money. At the same time, Chinese car companies are growing fast and now hold over 10% of the European market. To avoid high European import taxes on electric cars, Chinese companies started selling more hybrid cars instead.

To protect European companies, the EU is now planning new laws. These rules might put taxes on hybrid cars or make foreign companies to build their vehicles inside Europe.

Difficult words: business model (a company’s organized plan for how it will make cars or products, sell them, and earn a profit), avoid (to find a clever way around a problem, a rule, or a tax so that you do not have to deal with it or pay it), hybrid car (a modern car that uses two different sources of power: a standard petrol engine and an electric motor).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.