Marc Llistosella, the CEO of automotive supplier Knorr-Bremse, has warned that European industry is rapidly losing relevance. Speaking to Politico, Llistosella stated that if the current trajectory continues, Europe risks collapsing in 15 years, criticizing the continent’s reaction to the China shock as being “too short-sighted.”
Llistosella proposed that the EU should invite China to invest, but only under the identical conditions that allow European companies to operate in China, which he specifies must include joint ventures and knowledge transfer. From his perspective, subsidies within the automotive industry should realistically only be given to electric vehicles that meet “80 percent local content, including the battery.” He stressed that China must bring technology back to Europe through collaborative joint-venture partnerships, adding that “this is what they did with us.”
He also highlighted a significant vulnerability in the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) market. Warning that the European truck market is set for a massive transformation over the next three to five years, Llistosella noted that this shift has already begun with the introduction of electric city buses, which have effectively “opened the floodgates.”
