European heavy industry is undergoing a tectonic shift that is drawing a new economic map of the continent. Pressed by the looming Chinese expansion and shrinking margins, the truck manufacturing giants are massively "evacuating" their production facilities from Germany to Eastern Europe. This process, although disguised under the corporate slogan of "optimization", is a direct response to the brutal price war that Beijing is preparing in the electric tractor market.
The Chinese threat is no longer just theoretical – six brands from the East have announced their ambitions to flood the European Union market with long-distance electric machines that are as much as 30% cheaper than their European counterparts. In this context, maintaining production in Germany, where labor costs are crushing, looks increasingly unsustainable.
Daimler Truck and the new Czech base
The German giant Daimler Truck has already made its move, betting on the Czech city of Cheb. A new truck assembly plant is to be operational there by the end of the decade. The plan is ambitious: 1,000 employees will produce 25,000 vehicles per year, using cabs supplied from the Wörth base. Although management assures of the key role of German capacities, the math is clear - the Czech Republic offers similar quality at a much more reasonable price.
MAN turns Poland into a global production center
The Traton Group, through the MAN brand, is going even further in its expansion to the east. The cluster in Niepołomice, near Krakow, is undergoing such a massive expansion that it will soon become MAN’s largest plant in the world. With an investment of over 438 million euros and a workforce of 3,500, the Polish facility will be able to churn out up to 300 trucks a day, including next-generation models.
The financial noose tightens
The 2025 figures show why these moves are inevitable. Mercedes-Benz Trucks ended the year with a margin of just 6.2%, and the brand’s total revenue fell by 4%. The situation is similar at MAN, where despite a slight increase in revenue, profitability is shrinking. Markets are reacting coolly – While Daimler Truck shares are floundering, Traton's shares have risen by 16%, precisely because of the successful reorientation to more profitable Polish capacities.
The Bulgarian context and the regional perspective
While the Czech Republic and Poland are taking over large assembly plants, Bulgaria continues to establish itself as an indispensable hub for components. Although we still lack large-scale assembly of entire trucks, our country is integrated into these chains through the production of electronics, wiring and parts for the heavy-duty sector. The logic of low costs that drives the factories to Cheb and Niepołomice is the same that makes Bulgarian subcontractors critically important for the survival of European brands against Asian competition.
The difference in pay remains the "elephant in the room". Eurostat data for 2025 are merciless:
Germany: 45 euros per hour
Sweden: 43.1 euros per hour
Czech Republic and Slovakia: 19.8 euros per hour
Poland: 19.1 euros per hour
Bulgaria is also on the map for new factories, as it is clear that costs in our country remain among the most competitive in the entire bloc - the average hourly labor cost in our sector is only 12 euros, which portends an even more serious surge of investments in the automotive sector in our country, as the fight for the survival of the European truck is just entering its decisive phase.