The management of the German concern Rheinmetall has decided to repurpose two of its plants currently manufacturing automotive components. The shift was initiated amid a crisis that has engulfed the country's automotive industry.
The selected two factories in Berlin and Neuss will be partially reconfigured to produce unspecified weapons and ammunition, but the production of car parts will also continue there, Reuters reports. Details about the expected amount of investment or the conversion timeframe have not yet been disclosed.
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Rheinmetall press service vaguely outlined that "the plants will benefit from the industrial strength that the Rheinmetall Group has as a major military equipment supplier, as well as from the high demand from customers in Germany and worldwide." The facilities, as noted, won't process explosives but will produce protection and mechanical components for military use.
Defense Express points out that such wording suggests that the primary goal of Rheinmetall is to increase its capabilities to fulfill orders supplied to the Bundeswehr and those earmarked for defense support of Ukraine. At the same time, they try to keep its auto parts-producing lines warm, perhaps in anticipation of better times for the German automobile sector.
Reuters also cites data that in 9 months of 2024, Rheinmetall's operating profit at the weapons segment nearly doubled to EUR 339 million while the automotive business dropped by 3.8% to EUR 74 million.
Since early 2022, European countries have spent a total of 200 billion euros on the purchase of equipment and weapons, but only 20% of this amount, or 40 billion euros, translated into acquisition contracts with European defense companies. These days, the number of orders to specialized enterprises in Europe may increase significantly after the defense spending demands of the new U.S. President Donald Trump.
On a note from Defense Express, the partial converting of Rheinmetall's automotive sector capacity for defense production needs is another example of a larger process occurring across Europe. Manufacturers actively beat plowshares into swords, taking over non-military factories to turn them into arms powerhouses. For example, German holding company KNDS this month committed to buy a legendary railcar plant in Görlitz to transform the site and make components for RCH 155 and Leopard 2 there.
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