Hello, and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist.

In Lagos, I'm Aura Ugumbi.

And in London, I'm Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

People really love their big cars.

The loud, flashy trucks and SUVs have become a status symbol of sorts.

Our manufacturers love them too, especially for their healthy profit margins.

But their attempt to replicate this business with electric vehicles comes at a cost.

And the language with the most native speakers is, by a long way, Mandarin.

And for a long while, it was a wildly popular choice for learners outside China.

We ask why amid a wider drop in language interest, so few are choosing it today.

Let's start there.

In the 2010s, Germany was thriving.

An employment miracle, or as the Germans say, a job funder, reached full flour on the

back of a boom in demand from emerging markets.

Germany's economy grew by more than its European rivals, Britain and France, while its

debt to GDP ratio fell below 60%.

Angola Merkel, Chancellor throughout these glory years, was lauded for uniquely grown-up

leadership, and commentators published books with titles such as Why the Germans Do It Better.

Germany's footballers even won the World Cup.

But the 2020s are shaping up to be very different, and not just because the national football team

is fostering.

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