This report assesses how EU-funded research and innovation supports the competitiveness of the European automotive sector during its transition towards clean, digital and resilient mobility. The analysis covers 150 projects, representing around EUR 1.99 billion in total budget and EUR 1.23 billion in EU contribution, across connected and automated mobility, software-defined vehicles, electric-vehicle batteries, zero-emission components and infrastructure, deployment, advanced materials and manufacturing, and workforce transformation. The portfolio is strongly oriented towards clean mobility, while also showing increasing attention to digitalisation, supply-chain resilience, circularity and skills. The report finds that EU R&I contributes to technology validation, demonstration and piloting, but that stronger links are needed between project results, industrial scale-up, certification, infrastructure deployment, skills development and market uptake. The findings support EU transport, research and innovation, and industrial-policy discussions on how to align future R&I programming with automotive competitiveness, decarbonisation and strategic resilience.

CHEIMARIOTIS Ilias;  PIAZZA Francesca;  LODI Chiara;  ZAWIESKA Jakub;  RATAJ Michal;  STEPNIAK Marcin;  MAROTTA Alessandro;  GROSSO Monica; 

2026-09-22

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC146980

978-92-68-43208-2 (online),    978-92-68-43694-3 (print),   

1831-9424 (online),    1018-5593 (print),   

EUR 40849,    OP KJ-01-26-384-EN-N (online),    OP KJ-01-26-384-EN-C (print),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC146980,   

10.2760/4220161 (online),    10.2760/4401884 (print),