Overcapacity, Chinese pressure, slow-moving factories: why defense attracts the automobile industry

And one more manufacturer, one! Questioned by the Wall Street JournalMercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius recently suggested that the manufacturer could play a bigger role in the defense industry. Provided that this presents a real economic interest. The formula remains cautious: no concrete project has been announced, no industrial program has been detailed.

The German leader especially insisted on one specific point: the industrial know-how of automobile manufacturers. Producing complex machines with high quality requirements and on a large scale constitutes one of the historic strengths of the sector. Mercedes is not completely starting from a blank sheet of paper. The manufacturer has long offered military versions of the G Class and remains the main shareholder of its former heavy goods division, certain activities of which already concern military uses.

But the fact that Mercedes is starting to raise the subject seems above all to illustrate an evolution which is starting to appear in the automobile industry.

When the automobile industry already has the required skills

Mercedes is in fact not the first actor to look in this direction. Earlier this year, Renault confirmed the assembly at Le Mans of the Chorus project drones in partnership with Turgis Gaillard. In a press release published last February, the Diamond brand specified the targeted capacity which could reach up to 600 units per month in less than a year. The group had nevertheless taken care to specify that it was not seeking to become a major player in defense, but to take advantage of its existing industrial skills.

What automotive manufacturers have in common is knowing how to design complex objects, control costs, secure supply chains and produce quickly on a large scale. Skills that resemble precisely what the European defense industry is looking for today, in a period where geopolitical balances are constantly changing.

Other signals also appear. According to the Wall Street Journal, Volkswagen is discussing possible industrial cooperation linked to defense systems, while Rheinmetall, a German industrial conglomerate specializing in both arms and certain automotive equipment, is considering converting certain industrial capacities from the automobile sector to its own needs. Even Porsche SE announced in 2025 that it was considering launching into the production of drones.

A reconversion or simply a new bowstring?

However, these initiatives should not be seen ashe start of a radical transformation of car manufacturers into defense groups. Mercedes itself speaks of a “niche” which would remain a minority in its activities. Renault also insisted that these projects should not divert investments linked to its core business.

This shift therefore seems more industrial than ideological. Several European manufacturers are going through a complicated period between the slowdown in certain markets, the costs linked to electrification, increasingly strong Chinese competition and, in certain cases, less demand for production capacity than before.

Meanwhile, the situation appears almost opposite in defense. Military budgets are increasing throughout Europe and industrial needs are increasing rapidly. The rapprochement between these two worlds is perhaps ultimately less surprising than it seems: one is looking for additional outlets while the other is looking for production capacities.

Mael Pilven

Automotive journalist

New or old, thermal or electric, the automobile has always thrilled me. Both behind the wheel and behind my screen, I talk about it with as much passion as possible!