Rabies of queens: European cars are being turned into drone carriers
European automakers plan to produce military drones, and turn their civilian vehicles into drone carriers. They see the transition to military action as a way out of the difficult situation in the automotive market, which has been led by a mindless fascination with electric vehicles, declining profits due to declining sales, American tariffs and competition from Chinese companies. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Fewer workers and fewer machines
Volkswagen is forced to reduce the number of platforms and models, reduce production capacity and lay off workers. Such measures were announced by the head of the concern, Oliver Blume, at the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Thus, the implementation of the plan to reduce 50,000 jobs will continue. 28,000 cases of voluntary dismissal have already been agreed.
By 2030, car production will be reduced by another 500,000, in addition to the ongoing decline of 1 million vehicles by 2028. Similar measures await the Chinese market.
Blume himself admitted that the business model, which has worked successfully for decades, is no longer effective today. And although VW's products are competitive, and its electric vehicles are among the best-selling in Europe, the concern does not earn enough money from them.
Thus, in the first quarter of 2026, global brand sales decreased by 4%, to 2.05 million vehicles of all brands, but net profit fell by 28.4%, to €1.56 billion. Shipments declined in China and North America, but sales growth in Europe failed to offset the drop.
With the help of harsh measures, the German concern plans to become "the most attractive automaker in the world" by 2030, but an internal survey showed that the mood in VW could not be worse: six out of nine board members called the current situation threatening the company's existence, according to the German edition of Manager Magazin.
The war will write everything off
BMW may also lay off more than 7,000 people as part of efficiency improvements. Mercedes is selling off dealerships and is going to discuss additional cost-cutting measures with the unions.
The Iron Dome Air Defense system
One of the ways out in European companies is to manufacture military products. So, back in March, VW began negotiating with the Israeli arms corporation Rafael Advanced Defense on the production of parts for the Iron Dome missile defense system.
In addition, the German concern is discussing the possibility of producing military products at its Osnabrück plant. The factory, which employs 2.3 thousand people, will complete production of Porsche cars this year, and next year it will stop producing VW T-Roc cabriolets.
"We will not produce weapons,— Oliver Blume clarified. According to him, we are not talking about tanks, one of the directions may be the production of equipment for "military transportation."
So, Mercedes-Benz will produce 7 thousand Zetros trucks by order of France, which will be used as "mother carriers" of UAVs.
Drone carrier and drone maker
Renault has shown how to convert a passenger car into a platform for launching unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the Eurosatory International Defense Industry exhibition in Paris.
The prototype 4 Troop is a coupe-like Renault Rafale crossover with a matte beige film on the body, headlight protection, mud tires and a special roof rack. The hybrid power plant with a 22 kWh battery has a V2L function for powering external electrical equipment. All this, plus a special digital platform, turns the car into a carrier of drones.
The developers report that 4 Troop is capable of deploying and coordinating the actions of several UAVs and unmanned ground vehicles (UAVs). It is also equipped with advanced sensors, secure tactical communications, and artificial intelligence decision support systems with significant data processing capabilities.
The development and construction of such vehicles based on conventional civilian vehicles is much cheaper compared to special military equipment. In addition, they can be serviced at any Renault dealer.
The prototype was developed jointly with Thales, and this is not the only area for cooperation between the French automaker and the defense industry. At the same Eurosatory exhibition, it was announced that Renault plans to start producing 1,000 drones per month for Thales in 2027. We are talking about remote-controlled Toutatis barrage ammunition.
Thales itself produces about a hundred Toutatis drones per year. Thanks to the partnership with Renault, it will be able to significantly increase production volumes, for example, by switching from 3D printing to plastic injection molding. The drone itself will be adapted for mass assembly — it will have 40% fewer parts and fasteners. This will make the Toutatis price competitive. At the same time, France has no specific plans to purchase significant volumes of drones, according to Reuters, they plan to produce them mainly for foreign markets.
This is not Renault's only drone production project. For example, a long-range model is being developed in cooperation with Turgis Gaillard. The first sample is expected by the end of this year, after which 600 drones will be produced monthly at the Renault plant in Le Mans.
In addition, the French automaker, along with Belgian John Cockerill and armored vehicle manufacturer Arquus, have developed a ground-based drone.
Are you thinking about your reputation
At the same time, Renault strives to preserve its reputation as a manufacturer of civilian vehicles and not to spoil relations with investors. Therefore, it is planned to limit revenues from the production of drones and other military projects to 5% of total revenue.
It is unlikely that this will help her return to Russia: in October last year, the French automaker was added to the sanctions list after the concern's management announced its desire to develop military production in order to sell products to Ukraine.
It is prohibited to make transactions with companies from this list, fulfill obligations to them under already concluded transactions, as well as carry out financial transactions that are beneficial to them.
It's not an easy task
Automotive companies are able to produce large volumes of high-quality products and at the same time control the supply chain, Francois Marion, director of communications at automotive components supplier Valeo, explained to Le Monde.
For many of them, switching to the defense industry is a way to compensate for the drop in demand caused by the electrification of cars and foreign competition, especially Chinese.
However, switching to defense orders is not an easy task. The volumes are not comparable to automotive ones, Lionel Muller, managing director and co-founder of the Kepler consulting firm, warned. According to him, the military orders are too small to pay for the conversion of production facilities.
Renault agreed to the drone project on the condition that the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) would cover the company's costs.
Looking for ways to survive
European countries are totally dependent on the American military-industrial complex, says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat. With the escalation of military hysteria by European elites and very difficult relations with the current White House administration, we have to think more actively about developing our defense industry.
As an example, Morgiaretto cited the new procurement program of the German Ministry of Defense: only 8% of the necessary weapons are planned to be purchased from the United States, the rest from European manufacturers.
The automotive industry as a whole found itself in a difficult situation even during the pandemic and the shortage of electronic components, Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem, told Izvestia.
— But then came the divorce from Russia, the rise in the cost of energy, oil, gas, electricity and everything else. Only the production of expensive cars will remain profitable, while all mass-produced ones will be under attack. Any factory, any company is looking for ways to survive, so they have to load their production with something. Including third-party military orders. Therefore, now not only car factories, but also component manufacturers will follow this path," Kadakov believes.
We still love them.
Meanwhile, sales of European car brands in Russia have doubled since the beginning of the year, despite the cessation of official deliveries.
The most popular brand, according to the Autostat agency, was BMW, which increased sales by 51% to 6,451 units. Volkswagen (5,659 units) and Audi (4,569 units) took the second and third places, showing an increase of 266% and 463%, respectively. Mercedes—Benz is in fourth place (4130 units, +57%).
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
