Were the crises of the recent past a litmus test for goodwill in the automotive industry?

Abstract

Given the recent crises and ongoing structural changes in the automotive industry, future success potentials from formerly acquired investments within the automotive industry should be questioned. In this context, the estimation of future cash inflows and outflows as well as the corresponding discount rate, which is necessary within the IFRS framework of the impairment test of assets, becomes much more challenging. To shed new light on the impact of these effects on the litmus test, i.e. on the value of goodwill, the chapter is using the example of the automotive sector in Germany. The possibility of a goodwill bubble in the automotive industry cannot be ruled out, as our chapter suggests.