The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €15 million to German automotive supplier and lightweight metal solutions specialist PWO Group. The EIB loan covers machinery for a new manufacturing facility that PWO Group opened last year in Čačak in central Serbia.

The new plant, which is 16,500 square metres, makes advanced lightweight components for the automotive industry including components for electrified vehicles. The Čačak site is also equipped with a Shared Service Centre supporting PWO Group’s European operations and has the potential to expand production.

The plant has a total investment value of €31 million. In addition to the EIB loan, the project financing includes €12 million from PWO Group itself and €4 million from the Serbian government. The investment is projected to create 550 jobs by 2033.

"The EIB is helping foster technology transfer, new jobs and sustainable economic growth in Serbia, while enhancing the competitiveness and resilience of Europe's automotive industry," said Director for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Richard Amor. "The project will also contribute to vehicle safety, efficiency and electrification through the production of advanced lightweight components and systems."

By deploying advanced manufacturing technologies for cold-formed metal components, the project will deepen Serbia’s integration into European industrial value chains and bolster the competitiveness of the automotive sector across Europe. It will also facilitate technology transfer and new opportunities for local suppliers and service providers.

“The Čačak facility increases our local production capacity in Eastern Europe, one of the most important growth regions for the automotive industry. Our key customers – Tier 1 suppliers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) – have established major operations in Serbia and neighbouring countries and we need to be there to serve them,” said PWO Group Chief Executive Officer Carlo Lazzarini. “We are creating new jobs and building new capabilities in Europe, and the EIB’s support allows us to build this capacity faster and more efficiently. Serbia is becoming a significant pillar of our European operations.”

The project supports European Union foreign direct investment flows to Serbia, reinforcing economic ties, market integration and industrial cooperation.

“Investment in advanced manufacturing, innovation and quality jobs is key to Serbia’s sustainable economic growth and its closer integration with the European Union,” said Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia Julian Vassallo. “Through the EIB’s support for PWO Group, Serbia is reinforcing its place in European automotive value chains, attracting new technology and expertise, and creating opportunities for workers and local suppliers. This investment is a clear example of the concrete, shared benefits of the EU’s partnership with Serbia.”

This is the PWO Group’s first financing from an international financial institution, underscoring the EIB’s commitment to supporting EU companies as they scale up and expand their global presence. The EIB has invested over €3.4 billion in Serbia’s private sector to date, supporting innovation, job creation and business growth.

Background information

EIBGroup
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects under eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investments union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructure, the EIB Group crowds in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees, securitisation and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilises private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.

In 2023, the EIF together with six Member States (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) launched the European Tech Champions Initiative, a fund-of-funds to scale up innovative startups. To date, this initiative has already enabled the creation of 15 European venture capital mega-funds and scaled up 45 companies, including 12 unicorns (with more than €1 billion in capital).

Photos of the EIB Group's representatives and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here.

About the EIB in Serbia
The EIB has been active in Serbia since 1977, providing finance to support key infrastructure projects as well as SMEs, industry, services and local authorities. Since the start of its activities in the country, it has enabled €8.7 billion of investment in SMEs and the revitalisation of transportation, education, healthcare and utility infrastructure.
Serbia and the EIB.

Press contacts EIB:
European Investment Bank
Gordana Kovačević
Phone: +381 60 323 343 5
Email: g.kovacevic@ext.eib.org

Press Office:
Phone: +352 4379 21000
Email: press@eib.org
Website: www.eib.org/press



PWO AG
The Executive Board

Contact:
Lukas Daucher
Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Phone: +49 7802 84-282
Email: lukas.daucher@pwo-group.com

PWO AG
Industriestraße 8
77704 Oberkirch
pwo-group.com


PWO Group: Pushing boundaries in lightweight metal solutions
100+ million components per year | 3,300 employees | 10 global locations | Over 100 years of experience

The PWO Group is a global partner to the mobility industry. We are shaping the mobility of the future with our powertrain agnostic and sustainable business model.

As technology leaders in climate-friendly lightweight construction, high-precision forming and related joining technologies, we engineer and manufacture a wide range of complex metal components and systems at the cutting edge of technological possibility.

Our solutions combine cost-effectiveness with sustainability. We are at the forefront of the 3 megatrends in the mobility industry: electrification, safety and comfort. Our solutions are integral to almost every passenger car worldwide. With our innovative engineering expertise and “local-for-local” production sites, we ensure customer proximity and highest quality. We deliver efficiently, flexibly and reliably worldwide.

As a value-oriented employer with family-like structures, we offer a meaningful environment for personal growth. Responsibility and transparency guide our corporate leadership, and are strategically anchored in our guiding principle: People. Planet. Progress.

More at: pwo-group.com