Europe's automotive industry is in an existential crisis, warned Francisco Riberas, chair and founder of Gestamp, speaking at the Madrid headquarters of the 42,000-employee company that supplies most of the world's top carmakers from factories in 24 countries. Riberas said Europe has been 'asleep' while China stole a march in electric vehicles and the US erected import barriers, risking the loss of an industry that anchors steel, aluminium, glass, and chemical sectors across 24 nations.

Since 2017, when global auto output peaked, European vehicle production has plunged by 20-25%, with German manufacturers particularly hard hit. Riberas emphasized that 'who makes the cars isn't the most important thing'—what matters is manufacturing here and creating European jobs.

He stressed Chinese investments must include local supply chains, noting that for every car plant job, there should be three component manufacturing positions. Gestamp, founded in 1997, bills itself as a global leader in metal components but has 'very few' contracts with Chinese carmakers, as most Chinese-assembled vehicles in Europe still import components from China rather than sourcing locally.