In recent weeks, the German market has seen both a planned shutdown of a facility making automotive components and the insolvency of a long-standing supplier. At the same time, major truck groups are more visibly redirecting parts of their manufacturing to Central and Eastern Europe in search of lower costs and more operational flexibility.
A plant set to close
One of the latest examples comes from Mann+Hummel, the filtration systems manufacturer. The company plans to close its Speyer site by the end of 2028 at the latest. Manufacturing and logistics operations are expected to be transferred in stages to other locations within the group.
Around 600 employees are affected, including roughly 400 working in production and related areas.
Mann+Hummel stresses that the decision is not a reflection of the workforce’s performance. Instead, it says the move is driven by the need to adapt its European production network to changing market conditions.
The company points to several key factors:
- higher energy costs,
- high labour costs,
- weak economic growth in Europe,
- uncertainty in global trade.
The aim, it adds, is to consolidate output, capture economies of scale, and strengthen competitiveness across the wider network.
Insolvency at a supplier with more than 90 years behind it
Financial strain is also spreading through the supplier base. One case is Erich Jaeger GmbH, a company with more than 90 years of history that mainly produces components and electrical systems for passenger cars and trucks. Employing around 1,000 people worldwide, the business has filed for insolvency at the district court in Friedberg.
Erich Jaeger operates in Germany, Mexico, the Czech Republic and China, and also maintains sales offices, including in Poland, France, the United States and Italy.
Based on the information available, its immediate priorities are:
- keeping operations running,
- stabilising deliveries,
- finding an investor for all or part of the group.
This is not a one-off. Between 2019–2025, around 120,000 jobs were eliminated in Germany’s automotive industry, with roughly two-thirds of those losses in the supplier segment.
Manufacturing shifts east in Europe
The changes in Germany fit into a wider European trend: production is being relocated within the region. One example is Daimler Truck, which is developing a new assembly plant in Cheb in western Czechia, close to the German border. The facility is expected to reach capacity of about 25,000 trucks a year and create around 1,000 jobs. The project is part of the “Cost Down Europe” savings programme.
The group expects the move to help optimise costs, improve manufacturing flexibility, and simplify complex processes across its European plant network.
Some production volume currently based in Germany and Turkey is due to be shifted to Czechia. This reflects an emerging division of labour in Europe: more complex processes remain in Germany, while assembly moves to lower-cost locations.
Other manufacturers are taking similar steps, including MAN, which is also relocating part of its production to Central and Eastern Europe.
An industry being rebuilt
Plant shutdowns, supplier insolvencies and production relocations all point in the same direction: Germany’s automotive sector is in the middle of an intense transformation.
cost pressure, energy prices, global competition and technological change are steadily reshaping what manufacturing in Western Europe looks like. More of the value chain is moving into Central and Eastern Europe, while Germany retains the most advanced processes.
Over the next few years, this model could further redraw the map of Europe’s automotive industry — and the logistics networks that support it.
