Valeo CEO backs minimum EU content in cars to aid region’s competitiveness

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By Rachel More

MUNICH (Reuters) -Introducing a minimum requirement for European content in cars sold in the EU is vital for keeping the region’s auto sector competitive, Christophe Perillat, chief executive of French car parts supplier Valeo, said on Wednesday.

The European Commission is in talks with carmakers and their suppliers on ways to secure the sector’s future as it navigates an expensive shift to electric vehicles, stiff competition from China and tariff uncertainty.

For car executives, the focus has been on revising an EU ban on new combustion engine vehicles from 2035, which they say is too narrow-sighted, while suppliers have pushed Brussels for minimum content requirements, asking for a quota of 80%.

“Such a mechanism would strengthen European sovereignty while at the same time protecting competitiveness,” Perillat said at the IAA auto show in Munich, pointing to similar incentives in the United States and India.

He said he looked forward to discussing the proposal further during the next round of talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.

The European Commission has said it plans to gradually introduce European content requirements for battery cells and components.

Perillat said there was work to be done on the issue in Europe, with some companies still opposed to such requirements, particularly in Germany.

“We still need to convince here about the importance of local content,” he said.

Germany’s VDA car lobby has previously said European resilience must not come at the cost of excessive regulation such as local content requirements.

(Reporting by Rachel More; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Bernadette Baum)