E-cars, protectionism and bitcoin — that was business in 2017

Will Tesla overtake the big carmakers with its electric vehicles? For a short time, investors believed the hype. By mid-year, Elon Musk's company was the most valuable US automaker after its share price soared. But delays to the rollout of the Model 3 sedan due to production issues have narrowed its lead. Other automakers are now increasingly investing in e-mobility. The race has begun.

Several German cities are threatening to introduce a diesel car ban due to rising pollution levels. To prevent punitive measures, the German government announced a large program to subsidize climate protection measures. Although France and Britain have given clear deadlines for the phase out of the internal combustion engine, pressure from German carmakers is forcing Berlin to remain coy.

Two years after the first revelations of emissions test cheating, it was revealed in May that Volkswagen's subsidiary, Audi, had also utilized illegal software to manipulate exhaust emissions. Earlier this month, former VW executive Oliver Schmidt received a seven year prison sentence in the United States. In 2018, VW can expect more Dieselgate aftershocks – this time in front of German judges.

As Donald Trump took office, he caused concern by threatening punitive tariffs against the US's biggest trading partners. Despite criticism of protectionism at the G20 meeting in Hamburg in June, the final leaders' declaration granted the use of "legitimate trade defense instruments." So far, Trump has been reluctant to use them too often — most recently against Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier.

The US's "America First" policy has helped pass the mantle of globalization leader to the Chinese. A plea by President Xi Jinping for open markets has been welcomed by entrepreneurs in Europe. But they've called for his announcement of economic reforms to be backed up by more action. Many European firms operating in China say they're still treated unfairly.

Competition in the mobile phone business is intensifying. As the number of active SIM cards worldwide reached 7.5 billion in 2017, the Finnish firm which owns the Nokia brand attempted to overpower consumers with nostalgia. The legendary Nokia 3310 phone has returned, based on a simple design and the retro game "Snake." Above all, the Finns are focusing on a growing trend for second mobile phones.

Significantly more profitable, however, is the trend towards high-end smartphones with bigger-than-ever price tags. This year Apple celebrated a decade since it first introduced the iPhone. Nearly 1.5 billion of the devices have been bought since 2007. The latest iPhone X costs over €1,000 — but people still queued for hours to get one on the day of release, as seen here in Hong Kong.

Germany's ThyssenKrupp and Indian competitor Tata agreed on the merger of their European steel plants in September despite massive worker protests. The merger will create Europe's second largest steel company, behind industry leader ArcelorMittal. But thousands of jobs will go. The steel market remains under intense pressure due to massive oversupply. Further consolidation is expected.

Germany's second largest airline Air Berlin went bankrupt in August after years of losses. Despite a bridging loan from the German government to keep planes in the air until a buyer could be found, the last scheduled flight landed in Berlin a month later. Lufthansa plans to take over a big part of AB's flight operations — helpfully the European Commission has overlooked antitrust concerns.

The digital currency Bitcoin began 2017 valued at around $1,000 (€844). Few investors could have predicted that by year end its worth would have grown some 1,700 percent to $17,256. By comparison, the DAX index of blue-chip German stocks rose by around 15 percent in the same period. Bitcoin's rally continues to compound fears of a speculative bubble. Will 2018 be the year it bursts?