STUDY ECONOMY AND FINANCE THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN CEE What Does It Mean for the Automotive Sector in Central Eastern Europe? Ernst Hillebrand January 2023 The economies of Central East­ern Europe are heavily depend­ent on the automotive sector. The transition to e-mobility is changing the value chains. En­gine and transmission manu­facturing are particularly af­fected by this development. Decisions in this sector are made by the large western ­automotive companies. Politi­cians in CEE have relatively lit­tle leverage to influence this. Nevertheless, the region has a good chance to manage the transition to e-mobility. Hun­gary and Poland are among the major battery-producing countries in Europe today. However, competitive energy prices are a prerequisite for a successful transition. The Ukraine crisis threatens to have a negative impact here.