The manufacturing capabilities of automakers—honed through decades of fast, low-cost mass production—are now being redirected toward the battlefield. As global defense spending expands and protracted conflicts drive surging demand for weapons, European automakers in particular are beginning to leverage not just military vehicles but entire factories and mass-production technologies for the defense industry.
As the ability to supply required volumes quickly becomes as critical as weapon performance itself, the integration of automotive production facilities, supply chains, and automation technology is emerging as a new competitive edge in the defense sector.
Ford, General Motors (GM), and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are among the Western automakers accelerating their push into defense, viewing expanded military budgets as a new business opportunity. They are seeking new markets to utilize existing production capacity amid slowing auto market growth and intensifying pressure from Chinese competitors.
The three companies are competing for a £900 million (approximately 1.6 trillion won) UK Ministry of Defence military vehicle contract, with an initial procurement of 3,000 units. Ford is bidding with its Ranger pickup truck platform, while GM has proposed a militarized version of the Chevrolet Silverado. JLR is leveraging the Defender, which it produces at over 100,000 units annually.
Ford UK has formed a consortium with defense specialists General Dynamics and Ricardo to bid on the British Army’s vehicle replacement program. The project will supply approximately 9,000 military vehicles over the next five to seven years to replace the existing Land Rover-based fleet. Lisa Brankin, chair of Ford UK, said, “As a manufacturer, the surge in defense-sector demand represents an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.”
Beyond Military Vehicles: Drones and Missile Components
The defense push is expanding beyond military vehicles into weapons production. Renault is partnering with French defense contractor Thales to produce military drones at a rate of 1,000 units per month starting next year, applying its mass-production capability of roughly 10,000 vehicles per day to drone manufacturing. French military authorities envision using Renault’s mass-production systems to overhaul a stagnant military supply chain.
Cases of entire auto plants being converted into defense production bases are also emerging. Volkswagen has agreed to sell its Osnabrück plant in Germany for use in a defense project linked to Israeli defense firm Rafael. The agreement reportedly involves producing components for the Iron Dome air defense system in partnership with Rafael.
Mercedes-Benz has partnered with AI drone startup Titan Technologies to develop drone defense and operations systems based on the G-Class and Sprinter platforms. Stellantis also plans to sell its idled Canadian plant to armored vehicle maker Rochelle.
This convergence reflects aligned interests between the automotive and defense industries. Automakers face mounting pressure from idle production capacity, while defense contractors must rapidly scale up output amid rising defense budgets worldwide. The automotive industry’s mass-production experience—delivering millions of units annually at consistent quality through extensive supplier networks and automated production processes—serves as a key strength.
2.5 Million Units of Idle Capacity: Defense as a Breakthrough
Behind Europe’s automotive industry turning its attention to defense lies severe factory underutilization and deteriorating profitability. The region’s once-lucrative position in China has eroded sharply, while Chinese brands such as BYD and Geely have penetrated the European home market with low-cost electric vehicles.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), idle production capacity at Western European auto plants now totals 2.5 million vehicles annually. Volkswagen is pursuing workforce reductions of up to 100,000 over the coming years and is reviewing the closure of key production sites, including its Dresden plant and the Zwickau facility, where it invested over €1 billion (approximately $1.1 billion) in EV production infrastructure. JLR has also decided to cut 4,000 jobs in the UK as part of cost-reduction efforts.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), noted, “UK automotive production has fallen to half its level of a decade ago,” adding that “for automotive supply chain companies with spare factory capacity, the defense industry can serve as a lifeline for diversifying their customer base.”
In South Korea, Hyundai Motor Group is expanding its automotive manufacturing capabilities into defense and aerospace. Hyundai Rotem recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hyundai Motor to apply the automaker’s AI-based smart factory technology to aerospace production processes—transferring automation expertise accumulated on automotive assembly lines to the aerospace industry.
Kia is extending its vehicle platforms into military applications. At Eurosatory 2026 held in Paris this June, the company showcased a military command vehicle based on its civilian Tasman pickup truck, along with the KLTV (Kia Light Tactical Vehicle) and next-generation medium and large standard vehicles.
Union Resistance and Structural Limitations
However, observers caution that reconfiguring automotive production lines for defense is unlikely to be a complete solution.
First, there is a significant structural mismatch between automotive plants optimized for mass production and the low-volume, high-mix nature of the defense industry. Sigrid de Vries, ACEA secretary general, noted, “While the defense industry may partially alleviate idle capacity issues, it has clear limits in fully filling the enormous void left by the mass consumer automotive market.” Ford’s 9,000-unit military vehicle contract, compared with a factory that once produced 90,000 vehicles annually, has been described as “a drop in the ocean.”
Ethical objections from workers and labor unions also pose a hurdle. Germany’s IG Metall metalworkers’ union has expressed skepticism, stating that defense conversion cannot serve as a fundamental alternative to prevent large-scale job losses.
This has led to the paradoxical situation of automakers “sleeping with the enemy” to cover the massive fixed costs of idle plants. Stellantis acquired a 20% stake in Chinese EV maker Leapmotor and began contract manufacturing at its European plants, while Nissan is reportedly considering contract production for China’s Chery Automobile at its Sunderland plant in the UK.
The boundary between automotive and defense is expected to blur further. Automakers gain new markets for existing plants and supply chains, while defense contractors can leverage the mass-production and automation expertise accumulated by the automotive industry to boost production speed and efficiency. As “how fast and how much you can produce” becomes as important as weapon performance, automotive manufacturing DNA is emerging as a new source of defense competitiveness.
Kim Ho-sung, dean of the GAST Engineering Graduate School at Changwon National University in South Korea, said, “Converting automotive production facilities for military use was practiced in the United States and Japan during World War II. Since military supplies don’t need to be produced at constant volumes, facilities can be used for civilian purposes in peacetime and converted when military demand rises. Recently, as munitions shortages have grown, there is a renewed push to leverage civilian manufacturers’ production capacity.”