Two executives behind Europe’s newest battery plants have voiced support for a plan by Brussels to boost local content levels for car products as the continent seeks to weaken China’s grip on technologies critical to the electric transition.
Some carmakers have panned the “made in Europe” proposal as “very dangerous” and said it could slow the shift to electric vehicles. But the chief executive of Seat-Cupra said such rules for car parts were necessary for Europe to remain competitive as the carmaker opened its battery assembly plant in Barcelona last week.
“I think having a minimum amount of parts and also materials to be sourced from Europe for Europe is the natural answer,” said Markus Haupt, who heads the Spanish mass-market brand that is part of Volkswagen group. “It’s also the basis that we need to create to allow Europeans to stay competitive in Europe.”