(Reuters) – Several car plants in Europe and North America are at risk of closure or sale this year as car brands struggle with overcapacity and price competition, a research and advisory firm Gartner (NYSE:) – it said in a report on Thursday.

Automakers are likely to reduce production capacity on both continents in 2025 as they face emissions targets and tariffs, while China’s dominance in electric vehicles (EVs) will escalate due to advantages in software and electrification, the company says.

Closures or sales are more likely in high-cost countries where political and social pressures will be offset by increasing competition, Gartner Vice President Pedro Pacheco told Reuters.

“It’s kind of like a pressure cooker,” Pacheco said. “The pressures are building and mounting and… this will force many carmakers to make more pragmatic decisions.”

Chinese brands could buy the plants to overcome trade barriers or open up-to-date factories in cheaper European countries and free trade partners such as Morocco or Türkiye, the company predicted.

Fearing disruptions to European Union CO2 emissions rules from 2025, the CEO of a German car supplier Bosch (NS:) Stefan Hartung told the Auto Motor und Sport daily on Wednesday that the bloc should refrain from imposing fines on companies that fail to meet targets.

The European car industry is no longer on track to meet its 2030 and 2035 electric vehicle targets, said Luc Chatel, president of the French car lobby PFA.

“The risk is that we end up limiting sales of combustion engine vehicles to artificially increase sales of electric vehicles,” he told Reuters.

Despite the challenges of electrification, Gartner expects shipments of electric buses, cars, vans and ponderous trucks to grow 17% overall in 2025. By 2030, it forecasts that more than 50% of all vehicle models sold by automakers will be electric.

To achieve this shift, incumbent automakers could buy software architecture from newer electric vehicle makers and digital companies, strengthen R&D centers at technology centers, or partner with technology companies to create self-financed electric vehicle joint ventures, Pacheco said.