Four Motors for Europe: Automotive Regions Call for Stronger EU Support in the Industry’s Transformation
At the Baden-Württemberg - EU Economic Summit in Brussels on October 1–2, the Four Motors for Europe – Baden-Württemberg, Lombardy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Catalonia – sent a clear joint message: Europe’s leading automotive regions must have a stronger voice in shaping EU industrial policy. They warned that overregulation must not become a break to innovation and weaken Europe’s competitiveness.
The Four Motors met in Brussels at the invitation of Dr. Patrick Rapp, State Secretary of Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, to discuss how the European Union can better support regions leading the transformation of the automotive industry. Under the headline “Shaping the Shift – The Four Motors for Europe Driving Transformation in the Automotive Sector,” the partner regions underlined their shared goal of securing Europe’s industrial strength amid rapid technological change and evolving global markets.
The discussion featured high-level representatives from politics, industry and the European institutions, including:
- Guido Guidesi, Minister of Economic Development of the Lombardy Region
- Tomàs Megía, Head of Automotive Industry Office, Government of Catalonia
- Hortense Lutz-Hermellin, Head of the EU-Delegation of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Prof. Dr. Andrea Wechsler, MEP, European Parliament
- Mark Nicklas, Head of Unit Automotive and Mobility Industries, DG GROW, European Commission
- Franz Loogen, Managing Director, e-mobil BW (Keynote speech)
The Four Motors emphasized that Europe’s strength depends on the strength of its regions. Facing global competition, trade uncertainties, and fragile supply chains, industrial heartlands are under growing pressure. The regions stressed that Europe will only remain competitive if the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) invests more directly in areas that drive research, innovation, and value creation — the economic core of the continent.
They called for more flexibility instead of additional regulation, openness to new technologies, and framework conditions that encourage innovation. According to the regions, the transformation of the automotive industry can only succeed if the EU allows space for regional solutions and invests where change actually happens — in Europe’s industrial hubs. Future technologies such as battery cells, semiconductors, smart software, and climate-neutral propulsion systems are emerging in these areas, and that is where EU policy must focus its support.
The regions agreed that Europe must find the right balance in decarbonization — between environmental ambition and economic feasibility, between planning certainty and flexibility for businesses. What matters most, they said, is that regulation enables innovation rather than holding it back.
