Chinese trucks assembled in Europe: the Steyr plant in Austria

WEDNESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2026

The first eTopas 600 electric tractor came off the line on 27 July and the first vehicles went to DHL. The modules, though, keep arriving from China.

Chinese trucks assembled in Europe are no longer a conference hypothesis: in Steyr, Upper Austria, at the plant that once belonged to MAN and now to Steyr Automotive, the first series-built electric tractor unit of the Chinese brand SuperPanther, the eTopas 600, came off the line on 27 July. Vehicles from Sinotruk have been assembled at the same plant since March. This is not a Chinese factory in Europe: it is a European contract manufacturer assembling Chinese vehicles, and the difference matters.

What is actually assembled in Steyr

The declared method is SKD, semi knocked down: modules arrive pre-assembled and are integrated during final assembly. SuperPanther supplies the core components — the dual-motor electric axle, the power electronics, the thermal management — while other parts come from European suppliers such as ZF, Schaeffler, Infineon, Continental and Michelin. Sinotruk, which also started in SKD, has announced its intention to move to CKD with cabin construction and painting on site.

• 27 July 2026: the first series eTopas 600 comes off the line, a 4x2 electric tractor unit.
• March 2026: assembly of Sinotruk vehicles, diesel and electric, begins at the same plant.
• First customers of the electric model: DHL, Gress, Temmel and Lontex, with vehicles in service in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic.
• Figures declared by the manufacturer for the eTopas 600: 621 kWh CATL LFP battery, 876-volt architecture, average consumption of 0.94 kWh per kilometre.
• Common customs tariff duty on goods vehicles with electric propulsion only, heading 8704 60: 10% towards third countries.

Why Chinese trucks assembled in Europe rather than imported complete

There are four reasons and none of them is ideological. The first is duty: a finished vehicle entering the Union pays the common tariff, while components and modules follow their own headings. The second is volume: shipping a complete truck means paying for sea freight and for air, whereas modules travel compact. The third is European type approval, easier to handle with a partner that has run those procedures for decades. The fourth is access to European suppliers, which means spare parts and service where the vehicle works.

There is one point, however, that assembly in Europe does not settle by itself, and that is origin. Assembling in the Union does not automatically make a product European: non-preferential origin depends on substantial transformation, and simple assembly operations are precisely the ones customs authorities look at most closely. What follows in this specific case cannot be deduced from public information, but it is the right question to ask whenever European production from kits is announced.

What it says to companies buying in China

The phenomenon concerns those who do not buy trucks too. After goods, the final processing stage is moving: more and more Chinese suppliers offer products assembled or finished inside the Union, and that changes three elements of your purchase — the customs heading applied, delivery times and who answers for the warranty.

One recurring confusion should be cleared away. The countervailing duties decided by the Union on Chinese electric vehicles, from 7.8% to 35.3% depending on the manufacturer and in force since 30 October 2024, cover new vehicles designed for the transport of up to nine persons, classified under heading 8703 80. Commercial vehicles for the transport of goods sit in another heading and fall outside that measure. Mentally applying car rates to trucks produces wrong figures.

What it means for importers

If a Chinese supplier offers you goods assembled in the Union, three questions are worth more than any presentation. Which operations are genuinely carried out in Europe, and which arrive already done. Which non-preferential origin is declared on the finished product, and on what basis. Who answers for conformity and warranty: the brand, the contract manufacturer or the importer.

The fourth question concerns the kit, and applies to anyone importing parts for assembly. The customs heading of a set of parts does not necessarily coincide with that of the single component or with that of the finished product, and the duty depends on that heading. It is a check to run before shipping, with the bill of materials in hand, not once the goods are already at customs.

What one plant does not prove

A plant is not a trend. No volumes, investment or additional employment have been disclosed, and SKD is by definition a light, reversible commitment: modules keep arriving from China and the line can stop without anyone having built a factory. Saying that production is moving to Europe would be a leap the available data does not support.

What the facts show is narrower, and it is enough: two Chinese manufacturers have chosen to have their vehicles assembled inside the market where they want to sell them, using European suppliers and skills. It is a market access decision, and importers would do well to treat it as the normality of the coming years.

With La Merce, when a supplier offers goods assembled in the Union, the customs heading and the declared origin are verified before the order, because that is where the duty is decided and not in the sales presentation.

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