余る生産能力、伸び悩む需要――自動車メーカーが防衛分野に活路 Too Much Capacity, Too Few Buyers: Automakers Look to Defence

 日本語訳

Some Western automakers face a serious problem: too much manufacturing capacity and not enough demand for their cars. They have factories, workers and production expertise, but not always enough orders to keep them busy. Now, rising defence spending offers an unexpected way to put some of those assets to work.

The opportunity is not necessarily to build tanks. Instead, automakers can start with something they already know well: vehicles. Ford, General Motors (GM) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are among the bidders for a £900 million UK Ministry of Defence contract, initially covering about 3,000 military vehicles. Ford is offering a version of its Ranger pickup. GM's bid includes modified Chevrolet Silverados, while JLR is offering its Defender. Rather than developing entirely new vehicles, the companies can adapt familiar products and production systems.

The opportunity could extend beyond a single contract. Ford sees potential to supply military vehicles to other NATO countries as European governments increase defence spending.

For automakers, defence could offer more than vehicle sales. It may also help them address the problem of underused factories.

Stellantis plans to sell an idled Canadian factory to armoured-vehicle maker Roshel. Volkswagen has agreed on key terms for a possible sale of its Osnabrück plant in Germany, with plans for a project involving Israeli defence company Rafael. For automakers with excess capacity, finding buyers for factories may be more practical than converting and operating the plants themselves for military production.

Still, defence is unlikely to rescue the auto industry. GM's growth outlook suggests its defence business could generate about $1.5 billion in annual revenue in 2029. That would be less than 1% of the group's 2025 revenue.

Defence alone is unlikely to solve the industry's biggest problems. Competition from Chinese automakers and weak demand remain challenges. Even so, the defence boom could give automakers something they need: new customers for their vehicles and potential buyers for their underused factories.