Global automotive market - growth will remain limited
Commenting on the industry outlook, Bakay said that annual global car production and sales are around 100 million units, but production will not return to pre-Covid-19 levels. From a European perspective, he stressed that the market is gradually shrinking, noting that passenger car exports from Europe are showing a flat or weak trend, while import pressure is increasing. Bakai also stressed that European passenger car production is declining due to imports, traditional EU manufacturers are losing market share, and China is steadily gaining an increasing share of the global market.
Chinese investments in Europe and scale dynamics
Speaking about the investment plans of Chinese automakers in Europe, Mr. Bakai said that new capacities are planned in countries such as Italy, Poland, Hungary, Spain and Turkey. However, he stressed that initially these investments will be relatively small in scale. According to Bakai, Chinese players usually start with factories with a capacity of about 50,000 units in Europe, then move on to assembly structures of 100,000 units, while full-scale enterprises appear at a capacity level of about 300,000 units. Therefore, he noted that such investments cannot immediately generate strong demand for components, safety equipment and steel processing, and that Chinese players will need time to establish themselves in local markets.
The components trade is outpacing the car trade
Bakay stated that the main pressure comes not only from the vehicle trade, but also from the transformation on the part of the components. He noted that the global component trade is growing much faster than the automotive market, adding that the volume of Chinese components imported to Europe reached $8 billion last year, which
