Europe’s automotive suppliers have issued a stark warning to authorities to support the industry or risk manufacturing capabilities leaving the continent.
“With up to 75% of the value of vehicle components made in Europe, the continent’s automotive supply industry generates substantial economic value and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs,” according to the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA). “Yet Europe’s automotive suppliers are issuing a stark warning based on a recent study of European value creation: without urgent and decisive EU action, the continent risks losing its industrial backbone, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and its capacity to lead in clean mobility and innovation.”
A new study by Roland Berger, commissioned by CLEPA, highlights that European suppliers face a cost disadvantage of 15-35%, mainly driven by high energy and labour costs, regulatory burdens, and fragmented frameworks. Meanwhile, countries such as China and the US combine industrial support measures with protective mechanisms, creating structural disadvantages and unfair competition, the association claims.
According to the study, without urgent EU action, up to 23% of European value add is at risk by 2030 through the combined effect of powertrain transition and value transfer outside the EU. In practice, Europe could see the loss of up to 350,000 jobs, eroding both employment and the industry’s wider social contributions, Kallanish notes.
“Europe is in a decisive battle for its industrial sovereignty,” says CLEPA secretary general Benjamin Krieger. “Suppliers are committed to invest and innovate, but they cannot do so on an uneven playing field. Maintaining a competitive and resilient automotive ecosystem in the EU will require urgent, market-driven action by industry and targeted policy measures, to strengthen Europe’s attractiveness as a location for manufacturing, R&D and investment.”
This includes addressing key location factors such as electricity prices and regulatory burden, while also considering policies to ensure EU local content in vehicles to retain know-how and production capacity, he adds.
Suppliers employ 1.7 million people in Europe and invest €30 billion ($35 billion) in R&D annually. CLEPA is thus urging policymakers to swiftly address competitiveness challenges, evaluate options to reduce structural costs and cut red tape. It should also prioritise technology openness in decarbonisation, in a swift revision of CO2 standards regulation for cars, vans and trucks.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
