Europe
Europe may not win every contest at the factory gate, but it can test whether industrial continuity creates another field of competition around support, repair, evolution, reassignment and material retention.
Part 10 argued that retained value requires a usable destination, rather than a larger number in a ledger. At European scale, the same distinction separates a stock of ageing vehicles from an industrial resource. Europe’s automotive question is often framed around the next vehicle sold: where it is manufactured, which powertrain it uses and whether its price can compete. Those questions remain important. Continuity adds another: what industrial capability and material remain available while the vehicles already in circulation age?
MML proposes organising that existing stock as productive assets with planned repair, reassignment and recovery routes. For Europe, the potential value would lie in the combination of vehicles, technical expertise, workshops and processing capacity distributed across the region.
This is an industrial hypothesis, rather than a claim that Europe has a natural advantage or that keeping every old vehicle is desirable. It must compete on service, cost and measured environmental outcomes, while remaining open to imported vehicles and components that can meet its requirements.