By Christoph Steitz and Rachel More
FRANKFURT, July 1 (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s plans to drastically ramp up cost cuts are a “wake-up call” for the European automotive industry as Chinese carmakers target a higher market share, BYD’s special advisor for the region said on Wednesday.
Hit by tariffs, rising costs and intensifying competition from China, Volkswagen is weighing its largest-ever restructuring with 100,000 job cuts and four German factory closures, sources told Reuters last week.
“It’s the first real wake-up call for the European industry,” BYD’s Alfredo Altavilla told the Reuters Automotive Europe conference in Frankfurt.
He expressed doubts over the competitiveness of German manufacturing sites as BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, looks for a second site in Europe, following Hungary.
Altavilla said Spain and France are candidates for a brownfield investment – which refers to an existing factory by a legacy automaker – with a final decision “close”.
He criticised expectations that Chinese entrants to Europe would take minority stakes in joint ventures with locals while bringing the latest technology.
“This is not coexistence. This is brutal violence,” Altavilla said.
His comments come as legacy carmakers look for ways to address excess production capacity while catching up on product development and technology like batteries and software.
Stellantis has majority stakes in its joint ventures with China’s Dongfeng and Leapmotor intended to boost production at sites in Spain and France.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Rachel More, editing by Linda Pasquini and Thomas Seythal)
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