Stellantis and Renault Want the UK Inside EU Made-in-Europe Car Rules
Stellantis and Renault have urged the British government to limit imports of Chinese cars and to negotiate for the United Kingdom to be treated as part of the EU under upcoming Made in Europe auto rules.
The appeal came from Emanuele Cappellano, who leads Stellantis's European brands including Fiat, Citroën, Opel and Vauxhall, and François Provost, chief executive of Renault. They spoke at the Paris motor show, according to reporting on 12 October 2026. Cappellano said the UK needs to be "equalised to the EU 27." Provost said there was "no other choice" but a deal between the UK and EU on the rules. The Guardian
Their condition was direct. Provost said Britain would have to stop allowing Chinese cars in without limits if it joins the European system.
At issue is the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act, a planned EU law on industrial support. Under the proposal, a car must be built in Europe with enough European parts and materials to qualify for electric vehicle buyer grants and for EU public procurement, meaning purchases by governments and public bodies. The current draft would deny those benefits to British-built vehicles, a risk British auto trade groups have already flagged. The Guardian Reuters
Cappellano and Provost said the UK should effectively be counted as one of the EU's 27 member states for that law. The European auto lobby groups ACEA and Clepa have backed including the UK in the Made in Europe rules.
The stakes are practical. Stellantis runs a factory in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, that builds small vans. If those vans are shut out of EU grants and public orders, the costs of building there for cross-Channel supply chains shift. Think of local-content rules like a recipe requirement: to earn the reward, most of the ingredients must come from the region.
The push for UK alignment sits next to stricter EU action toward China. The EU will limit hybrid electric vehicle imports from China to 350,000 cars a year under a four-year agreement made in Beijing. Battery-electric cars made in China, including Teslas and EU brands built in China, accounted for 21.7% of all sales in 2023, up from 2.9% in 2020. The Guardian The Guardian
Stellantis has ties on both sides. It helps distribute the T03 model from Chinese manufacturer Leapmotor in Europe.
The Paris comments build on a joint push by Europe's high-volume carmakers. In June 2026, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault wrote to EU lawmakers calling for simple Made in Europe rules and proposed that 70% of cars sold in the EU should have 70% local content. The three groups account for about 60% of Europe's car output. Reuters Stellantis and Renault had previously warned of "painful decisions" over the future of their factories in Europe if conditions for small-car production did not improve. The Guardian
The broader context here is that the executives are linking two issues London and Brussels have often treated separately: rules of origin and local-content thresholds, and trade defence against Chinese imports. For EU policymakers, including the UK would add scale for parts suppliers and avoid a split in closely connected factories and supply lines. For London, inclusion would keep access to subsidies and public contracts that will shape fleet buying, but the price named in Paris is alignment with EU import controls. Whether London accepts that condition, and whether Brussels rewrites the draft to allow a non-member state a legal path in, will decide if Made in Europe stays an EU-27 tool or becomes a wider European system.
