BMW would reduce output at its plant in Oxford by eliminating a work shift should the UK opt for a hard Brexit, according to its chief financial officer, The Irish Times reported. The German carmaker already plans to completely halt production on the October 31st deadline when Britain is expected to leave the European Union, as well as on November 1st, CFO Nicolas Peter said at the Frankfurt motor show.

Autos have made Germany into a global manufacturing powerhouse, but pollution concerns -- intensified by Volkswagen AG’s 2015 diesel-cheating scandal -- have sullied the reputation of a product that once embodied individual freedom, Bloomberg News reported. More recently, trade woes and slowing economies have hit demand. The consequence is Germany’s car production slumping to the lowest level since at least 2010.

Factory production in Germany dropped in July, highlighting the weakening state of the eurozone’s biggest economy as it teeters on the brink of recession, the Financial Times reported. Industrial output in July fell 0.6 per cent from the previous month, improving on a revised decline of 1.1 per cent in June but off the expected 0.3 per cent climb that was forecast in a Reuters poll, the national statistics office said on Friday. Production was down 4.2 per cent from July 2018.

Ayondo GmbH (AYG), the Frankfurt-based subsidiary of the retail trading group, has filed for insolvency, Finance Magnates reported. Updates on the group’s stock exchange news feed indicate that the company, which provides social trading services, made the filings on 14th of August. Just over a week later, on the 22nd of August, ayondo also said that ayondo Holding AG, a Swiss subsidiary of the group and the parent company of AYG, had also filed for insolvency.

Deutsche Bank’s chief executive has warned about the negative side effects of a likely cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank next week, arguing it would do little to stimulate the economy but would deepen divisions in society, the Financial Times reported. Christian Sewing told a banking conference in Frankfurt that an expected lowering of eurozone interest rates further into negative territory “may make refinancing cheaper for governments but it will have serious side-effects”.

Germany’s export-dependent economy is suffering from a Brexit shock that along with the rise in global trade tensions and structural changes in the car industry, threatens to push Europe’s economic powerhouse into recession, the Financial Times reported. In the three months to June, exports to Britain dropped 21 per cent quarter on quarter, the biggest fall since the financial crisis a decade ago, contributing to the 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter contraction in GDP that Germany experienced in the same period.

Germany’s economic downturn is reigniting fears in Angela Merkel’s government about the future of its two largest lenders, Bloomberg News reported. The push for Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG to hold merger talks created a massive backlash and eventually failed. Potential buyers are steering clear. Now, the administration is running out of options just when a looming recession fuels fears Germany’s banks might not be prepared to weather another crisis, according to two senior officials with direct knowledge of the government’s stance. The German Finance Ministry declined to comment.

Bankrupt German wind turbine manufacturer Senvion said on Wednesday is that has not been successful in finding a buyer for all of its turbine business, and that layoffs are expected to occur from September, Reuters reported. “We are now close to having a solution for significant core parts of the business,” Chief Executive Yves Rannou said in a statement, adding that the company had the means to keep afloat until the M&A process is concluded. Creditors will be allowed to vote on the investor concepts at a 10 September gathering, Senvion said.

Investors in Europe’s biggest airline aren’t sitting comfortably in their cabins. German carrier Lufthansa —the top European airline by number of passengers—has seen its stock fall more than 40% over the past six months, The Wall Street Journal reported. European airlines are collectively down 30% due to a weakening economy, labor strikes and cutthroat competition in short-haul markets. Lufthansa’s market value including debt now amounts to just 2.6 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, compared with 3.2 times for all European airlines.

The gloom hanging over the German economy has deepened after a closely watched survey of the country’s business leaders this month found that sentiment had sunk to its lowest level in seven years, the Financial Times reported. An intensifying trade war between the US and China is weighing particularly heavily on Germany’s export-focused economy, prompting calls for the government in Berlin to ditch its commitment to running a budget surplus to provide a fiscal stimulus.