Top 10: Manufacturers in Europe

European manufacturers span a wide variety of industries including aerospace, technology, automotives and chemicals. 

A report from Deloitte says that despite current challenges, the European manufacturing sector is still leading the global market in technology and quality.

Manufacturing Digital has ranked the Top 10 manufacturers in Europe, analysing a wide variety of industries, looking at size, sustainability as well as innovative technologies.

10. Schneider Electric

CEO: Olivier Blum
Headquarters: Rueil-Malmaison
Founded: 1836

Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating and digitalising industries.

It has over 160,000 employees and one million partners in over 100 countries.

Its technologies include energy management and industrial automation products that enable buildings, data centres, factories, infrastructure and grids to operate as interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience and sustainability. 

Schneider Electric recently joined the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Lighthouse Operating System (OS) Advisory Board.

9. Nestlé

CEO: Philipp Navratil
Headquarters: Vevey, Switzerland
Founded: 1905

Nestlé operates 100 different factories across the European continent.

The company operates in over 50 different countries across the continent employing over 80,000 employees, supporting its brands including KitKat, Nescafé, Nespresso, Purina, S.Pellegrino and Maggi.

Nestlé says it fully supports the European Union's ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world, adding it is on its way to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

Globally, Nestlé has around 271,000 employees, over 30 billionaire brands and a presence in 185 countries.

8. BASF

CEO: Dr. Markus Kamieth
Headquarters: Ludwigshafen, Germany
Founded: 1865

BASF’s portfolio comprises six segments: chemicals, materials, industrial solutions, surface technologies, nutrition and care as well as agricultural solutions.

Globally, BASF employs roughly 112,000 people. BASF operates in 93 countries worldwide.

It runs 234 production sites, including seven sites in Verbund.

BASF’s Ludwigshafen Verbund site in Germany is the world's largest integrated chemical complex in the world. 

7. Airbus

CEO: Guillaume Faury
Headquarters: Leiden, Netherlands
Founded: 1970

Airbus operates in the commercial aircraft, helicopter, defence and space sectors, in 180 locations across the globe, employing 165,000 people. 

In the UK alone, Airbus operates across multiple sites where it designs, tests and manufactures wings and fuselage components for the A220, A320 Family, A330 and A350 aircraft.

The aerospace company also works across Europe with manufacturing facilities in Spain and Germany, including one of Europe's largest military aircraft production and support centres in Manching.

6. BMW Group

CEO: Milan Nedeljković
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Founded: 1916

The BMW Group is a major automotive manufacturer. Its production network comprises over 30 production sites worldwide, including eight sites in Germany. 

Its Plant Munich is investing around US$760m in its transformation into a fully-electric production site for electric vehicles. 

Milan Nedeljković, BMW’s CEO, says: "We have been making rigorous preparations. With the BMW iFACTORY we have devised a consistent, strategic framework for our production."

According to BMW, the site will produce exclusively electric vehicles from 2027 onwards.

5. Siemens

CEO: Roland Busch
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Founded: 1847

Siemens is a leading German multinational technology company focused on industrial automation, infrastructure, transport and health technology. It is the largest engineering company in Europe. 

The company is planning an extensive renewal of its manufacturing and development location in Amberg, Germany to the tune of US$232.8m. 

Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens, says: “This investment is a clear commitment to the location. It will also provide additional stimulus for Siemens’ growth in Germany.”

4. Mercedes-Benz

CEO: Ola Källenius
​​​​​​​Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany
Founded: 1926

Mercedes Benz describes itself as one of the world's most successful automotive companies. 

In Germany, Mercedes Benz operates in eight different manufacturing locations including in Affalterbach, Rastatt and Berlin. 

At Mercedes Benz site in Bremen, Germany, where the company employs about 12,500 people, it manufactures the C-Class, E-Class, SL, SLC, GLC and GLC Coupe.

It is also manufactures in the US, China, France and Romania, globally operating 30 production sites on four continents with 175,000 employees.

3. Stellantis

CEO: Antonio Filosa
Headquarters: Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
Founded: 2021

Stellantis, is a constellation of 14 iconic vehicle brands and two mobility brands. Its vehicle brands include Dodge, Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Vauxhall and Peugeot. 

It has multiple manufacturing sites in Europe spanning France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and the UK. 

A global brand, Stellantis manufacturing operations also include the US, Mexico and Morocco, supported by nearly 260,000 employees.

Stellantis recently confirmed plans to produce an Opel branded electric vehicle alongside Chinese manufacturer Leapmotor at a European facility.

2. Bosch

CEO: Dr. Stefan Hartung
Headquarters: Gerlingen, Germany
Founded: 1886

Bosch is a leading global supplier of technology and services employing roughly 413,000 people worldwide.

Its operations are divided into four business sectors: mobility, industrial technology, consumer goods as well as energy and building technology.

The company also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture intelligent, user-friendly, and sustainable products.

Its manufacturing sites in Europe span Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Founded over 50 years ago, its production site in Nazarje, Slovenia, has become Bosch’s main factory for small domestic appliances in Europe.

Bosch also operates across the globe including at its site in Hefei, China where it produces VRF systems for air conditioning of commercial buildings.

It has a focus on sustainability. Since 2018, it has succeeded in reducing scopes one and two emissions from its operations by 83% in 2025.

1. Volkswagen

CEO: Oliver Blume
Headquarters: Wolfsburg, Germany
Founded: 1937

Volkswagen's vehicles are manufactured across Europe including at sites in Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain that support production of its brands such as SEAT, SKODA, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Porsche. 

Globally the automotive manufacturer has 111 production facilities across 16 European countries and 10 countries in North and South America, Asia, and Africa.

In 2025, Volkswagen manufactured roughly 8.9 million vehicles. Its manufacturing site in Wolfsburg, Germany is one of the largest manufacturing plants in the world and employs roughly 70,000 people. 

In 2026, Volkswagen announced it had delivered four million all electric vehicles. The German headquartered company is also working on battery technology, with its subsidiary battery company PowerCo.

Volkswagen's PowerCo has already begun manufacturing unified cells at its Salzgitter, Germany gigafactory, marking the first time a major European carmaker has taken complete control of battery cell development and production.