Europe must strengthen its automotive industry by embracing technological neutrality, supporting European manufacturers and suppliers, protecting employment and ensuring that the green transition remains economically sustainable. These were among the key messages delivered by members of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions (EPP-CoR) during a debate on the future of the automotive sector at the Committee's 173rd Plenary Session.
Speaking during the debate, Alberto Cirio (IT/EPP), President of the Piedmont Region, called for a more realistic approach to the transformation of Europe's automotive industry, combining environmental ambitions with industrial competitiveness. He welcomed the growing openness of the European Parliament and European Commission towards biofuels and other technologies capable of contributing to climate objectives, while calling for stronger support for European car manufacturers facing increasing international competition.
“Today, Europe is correcting a mistake made in the past: technological neutrality cannot mean focusing exclusively on electric vehicles while ignoring other technologies capable of achieving the same environmental objectives,” Cirio stated.
Highlighting growing competition from Chinese vehicles, particularly hybrid models, Cirio also called for a stronger Made in Europe approach to safeguard European manufacturing. “If we want to safeguard the future of automotive manufacturing in Europe, we must combine technological openness with stronger support for our industrial base. Environmental sustainability is fundamental, but it can only be achieved if it goes hand in hand with economic sustainability.”
Protecting regional manufacturing and automotive suppliers
Ruth Merino (ES/EPP), Regional Vice-Minister for Representation to the European Union, the Autonomous Communities and External Action of the Government of Valencia, presented the priorities of the Valencian Community ahead of its presidency of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA), which begins in January 2027. She highlighted the importance of strengthening industrial competitiveness, supporting workforce reskilling and ensuring that resources from the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) and the European Competitiveness Fund reach industrial regions and automotive supplier SMEs. Addressing the relationship between strategic autonomy and international investment, Merino stressed that “investment that creates jobs here, innovates here and transfers technology to our companies strengthens our autonomy; it does not weaken it.”
María Isabel Urrutia de los Mozos (ES/EPP), Regional Minister for the Presidency, Justice, Security and Administrative Simplification of the Government of Cantabria, called for ambitious, clear and enforceable European content requirements to protect regional industrial production and ensure fair competition. She pointed to Cantabria's automotive components industry, which supports nearly 11,000 jobs and represents 30% of the region's industrial GDP. “If European public resources are used to stimulate demand, they must also strengthen our own industrial base and support the network of suppliers that sustains European manufacturing,” she said.
André Knapp (DE/EPP), Lord Mayor of Suhl* stressed that Europe's industrial transformation must give regional suppliers the opportunity to innovate and move into higher-value manufacturing. Drawing on the experience of Thuringia, he advocated connecting research, skills development and industrial production through regional value-chain clusters, while ensuring that European innovation policies also support alternative propulsion technologies, including fuel cells. “Our suppliers must not simply adapt to industrial transformation; they must have the opportunity and support to actively shape it,” Knapp stated.
A transition that protects jobs and reflects territorial realities
María Isabel Blanco Llamas (ES/EPP), Vice-President of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, highlighted the importance of the automotive industry for her region, where it generates 35,000 jobs. She presented the region's Strategic Automotive Plan 2030, which aims to strengthen suppliers, promote innovation and technological modernisation, and develop workforce skills.
Blanco Llamas also emphasised the importance of recognising different territorial realities. In Castilla y León, a region covering 94,000 square kilometres and thousands of villages, cars remain essential for accessing employment and public services. “Territorial cohesion must remain at the heart of European automotive policy, because we cannot allow the transformation of our mobility systems to deepen existing inequalities between regions and communities,” she warned.
Completing Europe's transport networks to strengthen competitiveness
Jakob Wolf (AT/EPP), President of the State Parliament of Tyrol, drew attention to the importance of completing major European transport infrastructure projects, particularly along the Brenner corridor connecting Northern and Southern Europe.
He highlighted the Brenner Base Tunnel as a major investment whose full benefits depend on completing the necessary access routes, particularly those from Bavaria. Wolf called for further investment in high-capacity and high-speed rail connections and the removal of bottlenecks that undermine efficient transport across the Single Market.
“Building major infrastructure projects without ensuring their proper connections will not deliver the results Europe needs. We must complete our transport networks if we want to strengthen the competitiveness of the Single Market, improve connectivity between our regions and support Europe's economy.”
The interventions highlighted the different challenges facing Europe's automotive regions, from international competition and industrial transformation to employment, mobility and cross-border connectivity. EPP-CoR members emphasised the need for EU policies that support European manufacturing, enable technological innovation and take account of the economic and territorial realities of regions across the Union.