Sweden's truck giant claims to have achieved Industry 4.0, but the EU took a closer look at the address and got angry—China is really unavoidable!
Recently, Leonardo De Pro, Vice President of Asia Industrial Operations and Procurement at the Swedish commercial vehicle giant Scania, said that their new factory has fully implemented the "Industry 4.0" standard. Sounds European and high-end, right?
But when EU officials checked the map carefully, they found that this so-called "Industry 4.0" model factory is not in Stockholm or Hamburg, but in Rugao City, under Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China.
The Scania Rugao base is its third complete industrial base globally, with an investment of up to 2 billion euros, planning an annual production capacity of 50,000 heavy trucks, integrating R&D, procurement, manufacturing, sales, and services. More importantly, it is the first time that a European commercial vehicle company has received 100% sole proprietorship factory construction approval in China—meaning that both equity and technology are entirely controlled by Scania itself.
Why would a century-old Swedish company set the core of "future manufacturing"—Industry 4.0—in China?
The turning point came in 2020—China removed foreign equity ratio restrictions for commercial vehicles. Scania immediately adjusted its strategy, upgrading from originally planning only to build an assembly plant to creating a full-chain production base. This decision was based on a deep assessment of China's manufacturing ecosystem.
This "innovate in China, export globally" model breaks the previous "Europe R&D—global replication" one-way path. In other words, Industry 4.0 here is not simply copying the European model, but a smart production system restructured based on Chinese scenarios.
The impact has already begun to show. Scania plans to expand its dealer network in China to 70 by the end of 2026 and introduce the mature European truck rental model. At the same time, its Rugao factory will not only serve the domestic market but also radiate to Southeast Asia and even the Middle East. This means that China is no longer just the "world factory," but also one of the global sources of innovation for high-end manufacturing.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1853651610261515/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.