1. The Beginnings of the European Union and Overview of the Book
2. Car Production and the Four Phases of European Integration, 1958-2017
Part II: Foreign Carmaker Assembly Plants in Belgium
3. Introduction to Part II: The Early Belgian Car Industry
4. Ford Motor in Belgium
5. General Motors in Belgium
6. A History of Renault Haren-Vilvoorde
7. The Multiple Roads to VW’s Audi Brussels in Forest
8. Volvo and Other Foreign Carmakers in Belgium
9. Conclusion to Part II- The Future of the Belgian Car Industry
Part III: Foreign Carmaker Assembly Plants in Spain
10. Introduction to Part III: The Early Spanish Car Industry
11. Ford Motor in Spain
12. General Motors in Spain
13. Renault Valladolid and Palencia
14. A History of VW’s Spanish Car Plants, Part I: 1940-1989
15. A History of VW’s Spanish Car Plants, Part II: 1989-2018
16. PSA Peugeot-Citroen’s Car Plants in Spain Part I: 1951-1989
17. PSA Peugeot-Citroen’s Car Plants in Spain Part II: 1989-2018
18. Conclusion to Part III- The Future of the Spanish Car Industry
Part IV: Future of Car Industry in an Expanding or Brexit EU
19. EU Expansion, Brexit, and Near-term Prospects for European Car Plants
A.J. Jacobs is in the Department of Sociology at East Carolina University, USA. He is author of Automotive FDI in Emerging Europe and The ‘New Domestic’ Automakers in the U.S. and Canada.
This book chronicles the divergent growth trends in car production in Belgium and Spain. It delves into how European integration, high wages, and the demise of GM and Ford led to plant closings in Belgium. Next, it investigates how lower wages and the expansion strategies of Western European automakers stimulated expansion in the Spanish auto industry. Finally, it offers three alternate scenarios regarding how further EU expansion and Brexit may potentially reshape the geographic footprint of European car production over the next ten years. In sum, this book utilizes history to help expand the knowledge of scholars and policymakers regarding how European integration and Brexit may impact future auto industry investment for all EU nations.