(Reuters) – Several European and North American car plants are at risk of being closed or sold this year amid excess capacity and fierce price competition, market research firm Gartner said in a report on Thursday. fair.
Companies will likely reduce production capacity on both continents in 2025 as they face higher emissions targets and import tariffs, while China’s electric vehicle dominance will increase due to its advantage in software and electrification, the company said.
Facility closures or sales are more likely in high-cost countries hit by increasing competition, Gartner vice-president analyst Pedro Pacheco told Reuters.
“This is a bit like a pressure cooker,” Pacheco said. “The pressure builds and builds and… this will lead a number of automakers to make more pragmatic decisions.”
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Chinese brands could buy factories to overcome trade barriers or open new factories in lower-cost European countries and free trade partners such as Morocco or Türkiye, the company predicted.
Fearing disruptions from the European Union’s 2025 CO2 emissions rules, the chief executive of German automotive supplier Bosch, Stefan Hartung, told publication Auto Motor und Sport on Wednesday that the bloc should refrain from fining companies that do not achieve the goals.
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Europe’s auto industry is no longer on track to meet electric vehicle targets for 2030 and 2035, said Luc Chatel, president of French auto lobby PFA.
“The risk is that we end up reducing sales of combustion engine vehicles to artificially increase” sales of electric vehicles, he told Reuters.
Despite the challenges to electrification, Gartner expects sales of electric buses, cars, vans and heavy trucks to grow 17% overall in 2025. The company predicts that more than 50% of all vehicle models sold by automakers will be electric by 2030.
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To achieve this shift, traditional automakers can buy software architecture from newer electric vehicle makers and digital companies, grow research centers or partner with technology companies to create self-funded electric vehicle joint ventures, Pacheco said.
(By Alessandro Parodi)
