Bringing a non-EU product to Europe: what Europeanization really involves

Since January we at EMBIQ have been helping a connected-device manufacturer from outside the EU bring its product and service to European customers. The first project plan, written in March, fitted on a few pages and put the launch only weeks after kickoff. It is now September, the first launch is close, and the plan has been rewritten many times. None of that was wasted effort. It is simply what Europeanization involves once you go past translating the app and getting a CE mark.

Our role covers both the business and the technology: organising local operations (customer support, import and logistics of the devices, distribution and billing), testing on vehicles, localising and extending the e-commerce shop and mobile apps, and managing the project across teams in different time zones. This is what we have learned so far.

Start narrow, and track what you do not control

The initial scope covered several European countries. Within weeks it narrowed to a single first market. That was the right call. A small first launch tests the whole chain, from the first order to the installed device and the first support call, while problems are still cheap to fix.

The harder lesson was about dependencies. Many decisions sat with partners: technical validation of the device, sales channels, pricing, even the product name. We keep one weekly list of open blockers, each with an owner, separate from the work we can simply get on with.

A local presence is a stack of small, blocking details

None of these is difficult on its own. Together they decide the launch date.

• A name. The product needed a name that works across European languages. Until it was chosen, the domain, app store listings, support e-mail addresses and printed materials all had to wait.
• Phone numbers. Local numbers require proof of a local address in each country, and a virtual office is not always accepted. We started with one number per language and planned the rest.
• Money. Before the local entity had its own bank account and tax registration, collecting payments needed a temporary arrangement agreed with tax advisers. In some countries business customers also check a supplier's bank account against a public tax register and hesitate to pay into one that is not listed.
• App stores. Developer account verification took weeks rather than days, and it decided when the European version of the app could be published.

Support in several languages, without an idle call centre

Customers expect help in their own language and time zone. We organised support in lines: an outsourced first line that answers calls and e-mails, a second line in our IT team for account and data issues, and developers behind them for anything that needs a code change. The difficult part was sizing it. A new service generates few calls at first, so paying a team to wait for the phone makes no sense. We agreed longer hours in the launch market's language and business hours for the others, and pay for availability rather than headcount. Agents with several languages at a professional level are rare, so we plan for language-specific staff instead. Scripts and the knowledge base are translated, and regular test calls will check quality.

Devices, installers and vehicles

A connected device is a physical product, so the launch also needs import, storage and delivery. The first shipments went in small batches, with customs paperwork and certificates checked in advance. The business model matters here too: when the device is provided as part of a subscription rather than sold, it changes what is invoiced, by whom and how.

Devices go to professional installers rather than to the customer's door. Each installation ends with a checklist, so nobody drives away with a service that does not work. The customer pays once, online, and the installer is paid separately.

Testing on real vehicles became one of the largest workstreams. Our team tested the device on rented vehicles of the models in scope, rating each as working, needing corrections or not working, and checking power consumption while the vehicle is parked. Some models hide the diagnostic connector in unusual places, so we documented installation with photos and videos for installers. We have done this kind of work before, for example in QA support for device integration across Europe.

Localisation is also a legal and data question

Localising the e-commerce shop and the apps went well beyond translation. The interface language follows the device or browser settings, while the region determines prices, VAT, support contacts, the products on offer and where orders can be shipped. Terms of sale are accepted before payment, consent to data processing is separate and can be withdrawn at any time, and subscription agreements can be signed remotely with an electronic signature.

Behind the screens sit the rules. Location and driving data are usually personal data under the GDPR, which shapes hosting, transfers outside the EU and retention; a company with no establishment in the EU generally needs a representative under Article 27. The radio side falls under the Radio Equipment Directive, and from 1 August 2025 its cybersecurity requirements, activated by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, become mandatory. The EN 18031 standards for them were published by CEN and CENELEC in August, but are not yet cited in the Official Journal. Industry partners are ahead of the law: an automotive partner's requirements package already included a substantial cybersecurity section, answered with a risk assessment of the gaps. Further ahead, the Data Act will apply from 12 September 2025, the Cyber Resilience Act awaits final adoption by the Council, and from 13 December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulation requires an economic operator established in the EU to be responsible for each consumer product.

Europeanization is a project in its own right: operations, support, logistics, testing, localisation and compliance running in parallel, each blocked at some point by something outside your control. Start narrow, keep one list of blockers, and design for the rules that are coming, not only those in force today. If you are planning to bring a product to Europe, see how we approach product and technology Europeanization, market entry and operational support, or contact us.