Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
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Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.

26.05.2022 /

German or Japanese, Italian or American, French or British? Most people have their own views on the quality of cars depending on the countries from which their brands originate.

But in the modern world economy, things are no longer so simple. Your "German" car can come from Hungary or Spain; The "Japanese" will be assembled in France or Turkey; "Korean" cars in Europe actually come from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.

To clarify, in two consecutive articles, we'll take a look at all the major car factories in the Old Continent and what models are currently being assembled on their conveyors.

According to the manufacturers organization ACEA, there are currently 298 final assembly plants for cars, trucks and buses in Europe (including Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Kazakhstan). We will only focus on light or light freight plant with 142 passenger versions.

Spain

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  1. Vigo is a Citroen. Built by the French in 1958, today it produces mainly lightweight models - Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Rifter and Opel Combo, as well as Toyota Proace City.
  2. Barcelona - Nissan. Until recently, the plant also produced the Pulsar hatchback, but the Japanese abandoned it, and now the Navara pickup and NV200 van are mainly assembled here.
  3. Verres, near Barcelona - Seat. The entire traditional range of Spaniards is produced here, as well as some other models from parent company VW, such as the Audi Q3.
  4. Zaragoza - Opel. Built in 1982, it is the largest Opel plant in Europe. The 13 millionth car recently came out of it. Corsa, Astra, Mokka and Crossland-X are made here.
  5. Pamplona - Volkswagen. More compact VW models are produced here - mainly Polo and T-Cross. The capacity is about 300 per year.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  6. Palencia - Renault. One of the main French factories, with a capacity of about a quarter of a million vehicles per year. He is currently doing Meghan and Qajar.
  7. Madrid - Peugeot - Citroen. In the past, Peugeot 207 was produced here, now the plant mainly assembles Citroen C4 Cactus.
  8. Valencia - Ford. It is Ford's largest plant outside the US, with a capacity of 450 vehicles per year. Now he produces Mondeo, Kuga and several models of light trucks.

Portugal

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.

Palmela: Volkswagen. This rather large plant was once set up with Ford to build VW Sharan and Ford Galaxy minivans. Then he put together the Polo, and now he's making the T-Roc crossover.

France

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  1. Ren - Peugeot - Citroen. This factory was built by Citroen in the 50s and produced several million GSs, BXs and Xantias. He now makes the Peugeot 5008 and Citroen C5 Aircross.
  2. Dieppe - Renault. A small factory that produces the revived Alpine A110, as well as the sporty version of the Renault Clio RS
  3. Flaine - Renault. Until now, the Clio and Nissan Micra have been built here, but from now on, Flen will focus mainly on the Zoe and the brand's future new electric vehicles.
  4. Poissy - Peugeot - Citroen. This factory specializes in compact models and now produces the Peugeot 208 and DS 4 Crossback. Opel's new small crossover will be added soon.
  5. Dieppe - Renault. It produces high-end cars of the brand - Espace, Talisman, Scenic.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  6. Van is Toyota. Here the Japanese produce their urban Yaris models, including those for the North American market.
  7. Oren - Peugeot-Citroen. Peugeot Traveler, Citroën SpaceTourer, Opel Zafira Life, Vauxhall Vivaro Life and Toyota ProAce Verso are manufactured here.
  8. Maubeuge - Renault. The light truck plant, which, in addition to the Kangoo and Kangoo 2 ZE, also produces the Mercedes Citan and the electric Nissan NV-250.
  9. Ambach - Smart. Another gesture of German-French friendship in the 90s, Daimler built a plant in the French part of Alsace for its then-new Smart brand. The Fortwo model is currently being built here.
  10. We pray - Bugatti. When Ettore Bugatti founded his company here in 1909, the city was in Germany. When VW bought the brand in the 1990s, they decided to bring it home.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  11. Mulhouse - Peugeot-Citroen. Until recently, Peugeot 208 and Citroen C4 were produced here, but in 2017 PSA refurbished the plant and entrusted it with the new flagship Peugeot 508. In addition, the 2008 and DS7 Crossback models are produced here.
  12. Sochaux - Peugeot. One of the oldest factories of the company, since 1912. Today he assembles Peugeot 308, Peugeot 3008, DS 5 and Opel Grandland X.

Belgium

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  1. Ghent - Volvo. Opened in 1965, it has been the largest factory for the Swedish brand for many years. He is currently assembling a Volvo XV40 and will likely take over some models from Lynk & Co, another Geely subsidiary.
  2. Worst, Brussels - Audi. In the past, the smallest model of the Germans, the A1, was produced here. In 2018, the plant was renovated and now produces the electric Audi e-tron.
  3. Liege - Imperia. This legendary Belgian brand disappeared in 1948, but a few years ago a group of British investors bought it and started producing sporty hybrids in a retro style.

Netherlands

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  1. Borne - VDL Group. The former DAF plant passed through the hands of Volvo and Mitsubishi before being acquired by the Dutch group VDL. Today, these are subcontracted BMW models – mainly the MINI Hatch and Countryman, but also the BMW X1.
  2. Tilburg - Tesla. The S and Y models for the European market are collected here.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  3. Zewolde - Spyker. After attempting to buy out a bankrupt Saab, the Dutch sports car company went bankrupt but returned to the scene in 2016.
  4. Lelystad - Donkervoort. It is a Dutch light tracked vehicle company that produces a very limited number of units.

Germany

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  1. Dresden - Volkswagen. This is the famous Transparent Factory created by Ferdinand Piech for his VW Phaeton and has become a tourist attraction. From this year, it will be producing an electric collection.
  2. Heide - AC. The legendary British sports car brand AC, from which the equally legendary Cobra is derived, is still alive, albeit in German hands. The production is rather limited.
  3. Leipzig - Porsche. Panamera and Macan are made here.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  4. Leipzig - BMW. One of the most modern factories in the Bavarians, which has been producing the i3 and i8 until now, and is now moving to a new electrical platform. Series 1 and Series 2 are also made here.
  5. Zwickau - Volkswagen. The city is home to brands such as Horch and Audi and, at a later stage, Trabant. They make the VW Golf, as well as the Lamborghini Urus coupe and Bentley Bentayga. However, starting this year, Zwickau is also switching to electric vehicles.
  6. Grünheide - Tesla. There will be Tesla's European Gigafactory - the third largest plant for the Musk company after those in California and China.
  7. Wolfsburg - Volkswagen. The city itself was founded to serve the VW company. Today the factory produces Golf, Touran, Tiguan and Seat Tarraco.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  8. Eisenach - Opel. The plant in this city has a legendary history - it was founded in 1896, then it belonged to BMW, after the war it remained in the Soviet zone of occupation, then it produced Wartburg, and after the reunification of Germany, Opel built a new plant here, which today makes Grandland X.
  9. Hannover - Volkswagen. This plant is also being upgraded to accommodate an impressive range of electric vehicles in the future. In the meantime, the Transporter is produced here, as well as the coupe for the Porsche Panamera.
  10. Bremen - Mercedes. Built in the late 1970s, this plant is today the main producer of the C-Class and GLC. The electric equalizer has been assembled here since last year.
  11. Regensburg - BMW. It produces mainly 3-Series, but also some versions of it.
  12. Dingolfing - BMW. One of the largest factories in Germany with 18 people producing the 500-Series, 5-Series, new 7-Series and M8.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  13. Munich - BMW. The cradle of the company - motorcycles have been produced here since 1922, and cars since 1952. Currently, the plant produces mainly 3-Series.
  14. Ingolstadt - Audi. Today, the "headquarters" of Audi produces more compact models A3, A4 and A5, as well as their S-versions.
  15. Affalterbach - Mercedes-AMG. In this small but modern plant, 1700 people develop and build Daimler AMG models.
  16. Sindelfingen - Mercedes. The oldest plant of the company with more than 100 years of history now produces the S- and E-class, as well as the Mercedes-AMG GT supercar. Here is the main Mercedes development center.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  17. Zuffenhausen - Porsche. Porsche's main plant and headquarters. 911 is primarily assembled here.
  18. Rastatt - Mercedes. Here, near the French border, compact models are assembled - class A and B, as well as GLA. By the end of 2020, the electric EQA will be produced here.
  19. Neckarsulm - Audi. This is a former NSU plant purchased by VW in 1969. Today he makes the larger Audis A6, A7 and A8, the most powerful Q7, and all the sporty RS models.
  20. Zarlouis - Ford. The factory was built in the 60s and assembled Capri, Fiesta, Escort and C-Max, and today it mainly manufactures Focus.Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  21. Rüsselsheim - Opel. The main plant and heart of Opel, where the Insignia and, until recently, Zafira are made. It is not yet clear what will replace them after replacing the old GM platform with the new PSA.
  22. Cologne - Ford. Opened in 1931, this plant today produces the Ford Fiesta.
  23. Osnabrück - Volkswagen, Porsche. The former Karmann workshop has expanded significantly and today produces the Porsche Boxster and Cayman, some variants of the Cayenne, as well as the VW Tiguan.
  24. Emden - Volkswagen. Previously, the "turtle" (Karmann Ghia) was made here, then the Audi 80, and today the city's plant is focused on Passat and Arteon.

Sweden

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.
  1. Engelholm - Koenigsegg. It is home to Christian von Koenigseg's headquarters, development center and factory for sports supercars.
  2. Torslanda - Volvo. The main enterprise of the Swedish-Chinese brand for Europe. The XC60, XC90, V90 and S90 are made here.
  3. Trollhattan - NEVS. The old Saab plant is now owned by a Chinese consortium. It makes electric vehicles based on the old Saab 9-3, which are then assembled and sold in China.

Finland

Where European Cars Are Really Made - Part I.

Uusikaupunki - Valmet. In the past, the Finnish company has assembled cars for Saab, Talbot, Porsche, Opel and even Lada. Today it produces Mercedes A-Class and GLC.

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