‘Made in EU’: How Europe plans to use China’s tech to pull level with its EV rival by 2028
European automakers are seeking to close the competitive gap with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers by 2028 through strategic partnerships and technology sharing. The strategy involves leveraging Chinese expertise and supply chains while implementing new EU industrial policies to boost local production.
Why it matters
The survival of Europe's massive automotive industry depends on its ability to adapt to the rapid rise of affordable, high-tech Chinese EVs.
European policymakers have watched Chinese carmakers roll in like a slow but unstoppable tide over the past few years: affordable, polished and threatening one of the continent’s proudest industrial legacies. Many have warned about the dismantling of their automotive prides following the new China shock.
A crown jewel of Europe’s industrial output, the automotive sector represents directly and indirectly a total of more than 13 million jobs in the EU.
It was no accident that electric vehicles became the first major flashpoint that rocked the trade boat between Beijing and Brussels: the EU slapped tariffs on Chinese-made EVs last year, so China hit back at European cognac, pork and dairy.
But the obituaries may have been written too soon. A growing number of industry insiders said European brands could pull level with their Chinese rivals in cost, some predicting parity could come as soon as 2028 or 2029.
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