Connectivity, not sheer capacity, will decide the future of trade infrastructure in Europe — that is the argument Maersk makes in newly published insights, and the company is pointing to its own Croatian operations as evidence. Near Rijeka, the Maersk facility in Kukuljanovo provides warehousing, distribution and value-added logistics services that support customers across Central and Eastern Europe, placing a full-service distribution base on the Adriatic for the region's increasingly complex supply chains.
The location is the point. Rijeka is Croatia's principal Adriatic port, and a logistics site at its doorstep puts inventory within reach of Central and Eastern European markets. For manufacturers and suppliers, value-added services — from warehousing to final distribution — mean stock can sit close to end customers without heavy fixed investment in proprietary facilities, an argument that resonates as supply chains regionalize.
The timing is no accident. As DW reports, Germany and France's 'Made in Europe' push is unnerving global auto suppliers, raising costs and competitiveness concerns. Japanese carmakers, which build several of their models in European factories, could also lose out: cars imported from Japan would not qualify for EU subsidies, while models built in France, Portugal and Eastern Europe would. Where a vehicle is made — and how quickly it reaches the buyer — is becoming a competitive factor in its own right.
The production map is shifting accordingly. Automotive News reports that Leapmotor has become the first Chinese automaker to build EVs and batteries in Europe, thanks to an assist from Stellantis. Localization of that kind only pays off if finished vehicles can be warehoused, distributed and delivered at competitive speed — precisely the kind of value-added logistics Maersk highlights at Kukuljanovo. For CEE, the message is that infrastructure and industrial policy are converging: connectivity is becoming as strategic as the assembly line itself.
For dealers and businesses across the region, the practical lesson is that distribution capability starts with the right vehicle. Buyers looking for vans, transporters and other commercial vehicles — or simply comparing offers across borders — can find sensational cars at sensational conditions at WorldTrader24, Europe's marketplace with over 70,000 vehicles.
