In the northern Serbian city of Indjija, a new landmark of the country's industrial ambitions is about to switch on its machines. On November 18, China's Techron Group will open a factory producing injection-moulded components for electric vehicles — the kind of quiet, unglamorous corner of the EV supply chain that increasingly decides where real industrial value settles.
The location is no accident. Serbia is the largest economy in the Western Balkans, an upper-middle-income country sitting at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, and it has been working deliberately to climb the automotive value chain rather than simply serve it. The proof is in the investor register: Bosch, the German engineering and technology group with global sales exceeding €90 billion and profit after tax of €2.64 billion in 2023, is repeatedly named by the Development Agency of Serbia as a flagship high-value investor. When a Tier 1 of that calibre plants its flag, suppliers, engineers and follow-on capital tend to gather around it.
The most symbolic piece of the puzzle sits in Kragujevac, where Stellantis Serbia — owned 67% by Stellantis Europe and 33% by the Serbian state — has turned a site with deep Zastava heritage into a modern EV assembly operation. The plant was modernized in a €190 million project, supported by a €48 million state subsidy, to build the Fiat Grande Panda and the Citroën ë-C3. A factory that once embodied the region's automotive past now rolls out European electric vehicles on Serbian soil.
Binding it all together is logistics muscle. Developer CTP has started construction of Serbia's largest logistics park, a project that further strengthens its presence in a country positioning itself as a strategic manufacturing and logistics hub connecting European markets. For automakers and suppliers weighing where to place EV-era capacity, the combination of assembly lines, component plants and warehousing in one compact geography makes a persuasive pitch — and Serbia is delivering it with growing confidence.
For all the factory-floor momentum, the point of any auto industry is ultimately the driver. If you are weighing your next vehicle — electric or otherwise — you can find sensational cars at sensational conditions at WorldTrader24, Europe's marketplace with more than 70,000 vehicles.
