The next winner of Europe's local-content race may not be declared in Paris or Berlin. It may be assembling itself, component by component, in Serbia. More than 500 companies now populate the country's automotive sector, according to Marko Čadež, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) — and, as Čadež points out, Serbia stands alone in its region as a producer of electric vehicles, thanks in part to operations by Stellantis. For a country rarely mentioned in the same breath as Europe's auto heartlands, it is a striking position.
The timing could hardly be better. Germany and France are championing 'Made in Europe' criteria under which cars imported from Japan would not qualify for EU subsidies, while models built in France, Portugal and Eastern Europe would benefit only if enough of their parts come from Europe. For global suppliers, the push raises costs and competitiveness concerns. For suppliers with capacity on the continent — and an appetite for OEM contracts — it reads like something else entirely: a structural tailwind.
Serbia's pitch is disarmingly simple: skilled labor at around €5 an hour, a components industry hundreds of firms deep, and proof of concept. The country's first major coup came when a Serbian automotive parts manufacturer signed a deal with a French automaker to produce components for the European market. In an era when European OEMs may soon have to count where every part is born, such deals look less like one-offs and more like a template.
