The Sound of Economics

Europe’s electric vehicle conundrum


Listen Later

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about electric cars with Bruegel’s Ugnė Keliauskaitė, Antoine Mathieu Collin and Ben McWilliams. Europe is navigating its transition to green technology while facing energy shocks from the Iran war. How will the automotive sector adapt? Can the European Union make the most of its industrial and trade policy instruments to support industry with minimal protectionism? What do electric vehicle supply chains look like now? Who pays the costs to consumers and industry of making these changes, or funding the related government programmes? Bruegel’s clean tech tracker shows what manufacturing is happening in Europe and where the investment is coming from. How are these trends shaping the global auto trade, and what will be Europe’s best shot to secure jobs and growth? As the US and China ramp up industrial policy, the EU needs to stay competitive.

Relevant research: 

  • Bruegel Dataset (2025) 'European Clean Tech Tracker'.
  • García-Bercero, I., A. Mathieu Collin, B. McWilliams, N. Poitiers and S. Tagliapietra (2026) ‘Made with Europe’ not ‘Made in Europe’ should guide EU industrial policy’, First Glance, 10 February, Bruegel. 
  • Keliauskaitė, U., B. McWilliams and G. Zachmann (2026) 'Dependence on fossil fuels, not on the United States, is Europe’s worry', Analysis 05/2026, Bruegel.
  • This podcast has been supported by the European Climate Foundation. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this podcast lies with the authors. The European Climate Foundation cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained or expressed therein.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Sound of EconomicsBy Bruegel

    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    16 ratings


    More shows like The Sound of Economics

    View all
    Economist Podcasts by The Economist

    Economist Podcasts

    4,225 Listeners

    Foreign Policy Live by Foreign Policy

    Foreign Policy Live

    617 Listeners

    Babbage from The Economist by The Economist

    Babbage from The Economist

    584 Listeners

    Macro Musings with David Beckworth by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

    Macro Musings with David Beckworth

    384 Listeners

    ChinaPower by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

    ChinaPower

    209 Listeners

    Brussels Playbook Podcast by POLITICO

    Brussels Playbook Podcast

    108 Listeners

    Redefining Energy by Laurent Segalen and Gerard Reid

    Redefining Energy

    132 Listeners

    The Rachman Review by Financial Times

    The Rachman Review

    153 Listeners

    Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

    Pekingology

    143 Listeners

    Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

    Ones and Tooze

    366 Listeners

    The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

    The Foreign Affairs Interview

    496 Listeners

    The Econoclasts by UnHerd

    The Econoclasts

    125 Listeners

    Unhedged by Financial Times & Pushkin Industries

    Unhedged

    194 Listeners

    Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe Edition by Bloomberg

    Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe Edition

    11 Listeners

    The Economics Show by Financial Times

    The Economics Show

    146 Listeners