LONDON, September 8. /TASS/. Europe’s welfare levels are set to collapse unless it can salvage its auto industry and establish a beneficial relationship with Chinese carmakers opening factories in the region, Francisco Riberas, chair and founder of Gestamp, one of the world’s top parts makers, told the Financial Times (FT).

"The automotive industry is the anchor for many other industries - steel, aluminium, glass, the chemical industry and so on. So, losing the automotive industry could mean losing industry itself in Europe, and that would have far-reaching consequences," Riberas said. European automotive manufacturing accounts for about 7 per cent of the continent’s GDP and supports nearly 14 mln jobs, the FT noted.

According to the Gestamp chair, the European car industry "faced an existential crisis having been 'asleep' while China stole a march in electric vehicles and the US threw up import barriers against Chinese cars."

He believes Chinese companies should be welcomed, albeit with caveats. "Ultimately, who makes the cars isn’t the most important thing. What’s important is that they’re made here and that they create jobs here," Riberas said. It is vital for Europe’s industrial future that Chinese makers turn to local suppliers for components rather than importing them from China and simply bolting them together on European soil, he explained.