Automotive & Mobility
Building the vehicles of tomorrow
The Leipzig Region is the perfect location to grow your automotive business – with excellent research partners, business connections, skilled workers and logistics links, world-leaders in the automotive industry are using the Leipzig Region to succeed.
Hardly any other sector is currently undergoing such dynamic change as the automotive & supplier industry.
The current disruptive challenges brought about by the transition from the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) age to electric vehicles are being addressed here in Autoland Saxony, where Leipzig based companies are at the forefront of this revolution. 1 in 4 electric vehicles in Europe are currently produced in Saxony, Germany.
When it comes to the automotive industry, Germany is a renowned powerhouse, producing almost 30% of all passenger cars in the EU in 2020 (incl. UK and EFTA).
Ever since Karl Benz built the first commercial motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine in 1886, German engineers have designed and developed some of the best cars in the world. Germany is the largest passenger-car market in Europe, and it hosts about half of the 22 large EV battery plants currently being built or planned across the continent. Germany is steadily expanding its charging infrastructure: initially, two billion euros were made available to create 50,000 fast-charging points by 2022, and in late 2022, funding was further increased by €6.3 billion, raising the target to a total of 1 million public charging points (both fast and standard) by 2030.
As a traditional centre for cosmopolitanism, innovation and revolution, the Leipzig Region, with its strong automotive cluster, is the ideal starting point for this technological E-mobility transformation. What began in the early noughties with the branches of Porsche and BMW has since developed into a thriving location for the entire chain of automotive production. A transformation associated with enormous growth has attracted many companies to the Leipzig Region, including E-mobility software companies like Intech and IT service providers like Ferchau Leipzig Mobility.
20,000+ Employees
766 Companies in the region
2 billion € Turnover p.a.
available skilled workers
100+ available spaces >10,000 m²
1 in 5 Electric vehicles in Europe produced by Autoland Saxony
Automotive success stories in the Leipzig Region
The two industry giants BMW and Porsche alone have since then expanded on-site multiple times and today produce more than 1,600 vehicles daily in their state-of-the-art plants with almost 11,000 employees. In addition, there are 170 suppliers from machinery and special machine construction, tool manufacturing, metal and materials processing, electronics, and IT, which in turn provide further innovation and growth impulses.
Since 2005, the number of employees in the automotive and supplier industry has nearly doubled. Meanwhile, the future of the industry has already begun in the Leipzig region: BMW and Porsche are advancing electromobility. The new MINI Countryman Electric is produced at the Leipzig plant, and Porsche has been manufacturing the electric Macan at the Leipzig location since 2024.
This shift to E-mobility has drawn significant battery production to the Leipzig Region and neighbouring areas, including Daimler subsidiary Accumotive, and planned developments by Dräxlmaier, who will produce batteries for Porsche, and Farasis, who will manufacture batteries for Mercedes Benz “Electric-First” strategy.
Automotive ecosystem in the Leipzig Region
Institutions such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU) are available as regional research partners and sources of the significant impetus for innovations in the automotive industry.
The Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK) researches electromobility, energy efficiency and production technology.
The Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL) has chairs for entrepreneurship, technology transfer and IT-supported logistics.
Last but not least, the Logistics Living Lab – the logistics laboratory of the University of Leipzig – provides an excellent environment for fostering innovation and creativity through cutting edge research and development work, especially around the concept of Smart Last-Mile Logistics (SMile).
As part of a strategic cluster policy, the Leipzig Region has created optimal conditions for the automotive industry in recent years. A regional network of producers, suppliers and research institutes provides valuable synergy and exciting opportunities for cooperation. Key players network through the ACOD Automotive Cluster East Germany, the AMZ Automotive Supplier Saxony, the Network Logistics Central Germany and the Leipzig Foundry Network.
The Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK) and the University of Leipzig offer a wide range of technical courses that reliably supply the automotive industry with dedicated specialists. These include industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and business informatics.
In addition, the educational institutions in the neighbouring cities of Dresden, Chemnitz and Halle/Saale also offer industry-specific courses of study and training, providing a rich source of automotive talent for the Leipzig Region.
