Rising trade barriers are making the export-and-sell model untenable, and the center of gravity in global auto competition is shifting toward local capacity, the Auto Man magazine wrote on October 22. As the EU layers EV tariffs, a carbon border tax and local-supply requirements, Chinese brands are building factories in Europe rather than only shipping cars.
Traditional makers mostly revive idle local capacity through joint ventures. Chery partnered with Spain's EV Motors to refit a former Nissan plant, targeting vehicle output by end-2026; SAIC MG is building a 120,000-unit pure-EV plant in Spain; Geely took a 221-million-euro stake in Ford's Spanish plant, expected to operate in 2027. BYD chose a heavy-asset, full-chain route: a 4-billion-euro passenger-car plant in Szeged, Hungary, with battery assembly, set for Q4 2026, building the most complete local system among Chinese makers in Europe.
New forces prefer light-asset, fast-landing models. Leapmotor reused Stellantis' Opel line in Zaragoza for the Europe-specific B10, with a companion battery plant; XPeng uses Magna's Austrian plant for the G6, G9 and P7+ with no fixed-asset burden, quickly entering Europe's mid-to-high-end market.
The parallel wave — Chinese firms building in Europe, Japanese and Korean makers expanding in the U.S. — reflects a broader turn from globalized supply chains toward regional local capacity, compliance and supply-chain closure.
Source: Auto Man / 163
