May 11 (Reuters) – Countries of the European economic area and Switzerland have committed almost 200 billion euros ($235 billion) of investments into their electric vehicle ecosystem, data from New Automotive showed on Monday.
Investments were mainly focused on the battery supply chain, with 60 billion euros engaged so far, as the continent tries to challenge a Chinese monopoly on battery production.
China manufactured more than 80% of all the batteries made in 2025, also those used outside the EV sector, the International Energy Agency said earlier this year.
“Europe now produces batteries for roughly one in three EVs sold domestically, and announced capacity could meet future demand if fully utilised,” New Automotive said.
Some 60 billion euros were also invested in EV manufacturing, centred on the conversion of legacy automotive plants alongside selective new EV-only facilities, said the research body whose stated mission is to accelerate the switch to electric cars.
Investments in charging infrastructure covered between 23 billion and 46 billion euros of public roll-out, with over 1 million public charging points having been deployed across Europe. More than 3.5 billion euros were invested in manufacturing of this infrastructure.
“These investments support more than 150,000 jobs, with a further 300,000 jobs expected if all announced projects are fully realised,” Chris Heron, secretary general of campaign group E-Mobility Europe, said about the report in a separate statement.
New Automotive’s report, however, showed a disparity on the national level, with major auto producer Germany accounting for almost a quarter of the region’s investments.
“The country anchors both domestic production and wider European value chains, with leading OEMs transitioning at scale alongside major international battery manufacturers,” New Automotive said.
The European Commission unveiled a plan in December to drop the European Union’s effective ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035 after pressure from the region’s auto industry, marking the bloc’s biggest retreat from its green policies in recent years.
Heron said that Germany, Italy and Central and Eastern Europe have formally opposed the EU’s 2035 cars and vans framework, while more than half of the tracked investments are concentrated in these regions.
“France and Spain stand out as other major beneficiaries (of the investments),” he added.
($1 = 0.8510 euros)
(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
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