The European Union's Industrial Accelerator Act requires carmakers to source 70% of components from within Europe, excluding batteries. Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover warn this will raise production costs, reduce investment, and make European cars less competitive against cheaper Chinese imports. Toyota's European chief says the rules undermine collaboration and risk shutting UK plants out of subsidy frameworks. JLR argues the policy does not fix high energy prices or slow model development, and proposes measuring economic contribution instead of assembly location. The industry is split. European supplier group Clepa supports strict local sourcing rules, while ACEA broadly backs the policy but wants subsidies to offset higher costs. The core tension is whether long-term industrial protection justifies short-term price increases for consumers and fleet operators. The article suggests the EU should focus on competitiveness rather than a binary made-in-Europe test.
