Logistics News
Chinese Carmakers Move Production to Europe – and Logistics Could Be One of the Biggest Winners
Chinese automotive manufacturers are accelerating their shift towards European production. The logic is straightforward: manufacturing inside the EU reduces dependence on imports of finished vehicles from China, lowers exposure to tariffs and brings production much closer to European customers.
The European Commission introduced additional countervailing duties on China-made battery electric vehicles in 2024, with rates exceeding 35% for some manufacturers. In 2026, Brussels continues to develop mechanisms that encourage investment and deeper localisation of EV production within Europe.
Major manufacturers are already responding. BYD is developing its European production base in Szeged, Hungary, while Stellantis and Leapmotor are expanding plans for vehicle and component production in Spain, including Zaragoza and Madrid.
For the logistics industry, this shift creates significant opportunities.
Instead of relying mainly on long China–European port–dealer supply chains, manufacturers will increasingly require dense networks of European transport routes.
Automotive plants need continuous deliveries of batteries, electronics, body components, production equipment, packaging and thousands of individual parts. Some will continue arriving from Asia, generating container flows through European ports followed by road transport to manufacturing sites.
At the same time, volumes between European suppliers, factories, warehouses and distribution centres are likely to increase.
A major automotive plant effectively creates an entire logistics ecosystem around it: regular FTL and LTL transport, time-critical component deliveries, container movements from ports, express shipments of production-critical parts and distribution of finished vehicles.
Demand is already growing rapidly. Dataforce figures show that Chinese brands registered 813,096 new vehicles in Europe between January and July 2026 - already more than during the whole of 2025. Their European market share reached a record 11.2% in July.
For LOADSTAR, localisation means new opportunities across European automotive supply chains - connecting ports, component manufacturers, production facilities, logistics hubs and final destinations.
As automotive manufacturing becomes increasingly distributed across Europe, reliable road transport, precise scheduling and flexible routing become even more valuable. For logistics providers capable of coordinating international supply chains, the relocation of production closer to customers could create years of additional freight demand.
The European Commission introduced additional countervailing duties on China-made battery electric vehicles in 2024, with rates exceeding 35% for some manufacturers. In 2026, Brussels continues to develop mechanisms that encourage investment and deeper localisation of EV production within Europe.
Major manufacturers are already responding. BYD is developing its European production base in Szeged, Hungary, while Stellantis and Leapmotor are expanding plans for vehicle and component production in Spain, including Zaragoza and Madrid.
For the logistics industry, this shift creates significant opportunities.
Instead of relying mainly on long China–European port–dealer supply chains, manufacturers will increasingly require dense networks of European transport routes.
Automotive plants need continuous deliveries of batteries, electronics, body components, production equipment, packaging and thousands of individual parts. Some will continue arriving from Asia, generating container flows through European ports followed by road transport to manufacturing sites.
At the same time, volumes between European suppliers, factories, warehouses and distribution centres are likely to increase.
A major automotive plant effectively creates an entire logistics ecosystem around it: regular FTL and LTL transport, time-critical component deliveries, container movements from ports, express shipments of production-critical parts and distribution of finished vehicles.
Demand is already growing rapidly. Dataforce figures show that Chinese brands registered 813,096 new vehicles in Europe between January and July 2026 - already more than during the whole of 2025. Their European market share reached a record 11.2% in July.
For LOADSTAR, localisation means new opportunities across European automotive supply chains - connecting ports, component manufacturers, production facilities, logistics hubs and final destinations.
As automotive manufacturing becomes increasingly distributed across Europe, reliable road transport, precise scheduling and flexible routing become even more valuable. For logistics providers capable of coordinating international supply chains, the relocation of production closer to customers could create years of additional freight demand.
