Message from the Secretary General – November 2014
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, ACEA, is proud to have been able to celebrate, in October, a decade of successful work in China.
ACEA opened its office with a view to working closely with Chinese authorities to promote cooperation between European and Chinese automotive firms. The decision has proven prescient. When ACEA opened its office in Beijing in October 2004, car sales in China were just 2.5 million. Today, sales are at 16.3 million, making the Chinese market the largest in the world. The two regions are important trading partners, with China importing 564,000 vehicles a year from the EU, and exporting 173,000 to the EU.
Every ACEA member has operations in China. For some, these operations consist of importing products from other countries into China. The majority, however, produce in China, with some having done so for as long as 25 to 30 years. European car brands combined have a market share of approximately 25%. It is therefore more important than ever to be able to work with local authorities to improve results for consumers in the country.
The celebratory occasion was marked by an event hosted by the EU delegation in Beijing, at which ACEA President Carlos Ghosn also CEO of ACEA member Renault – thanked local dignitaries and China-based EU representatives for their support in the country.
Mr Ghosn highlighted the importance of EU-China economic cooperation, saying, “To facilitate mutual exchange, the European auto industry is actively promoting balanced free trade, cooperation between Europe and China, and efforts to harmonise regulations and processes.”
In the same spirit, ACEA was one of the co-organisers of the 12th Annual China Automotive Industry Forum, organised in Shanghai by the China Europe International Business School, CEIBS, at which the focus of the discussions was on urban mobility – a topic of interest for vehicle manufacturers in both continents.
ACEA is committed to continuing this important work in China in the coming years and decades.
October also saw ACEA participate in the annual OICA general assembly in Seoul. This meeting brought together national automotive industry representatives from across the globe to exchange best practices on promoting green vehicles.
In Tokyo, representatives of commercial vehicle manufacturers from the US, Europe and Japan met in the presence of ACEA to review harmonisation efforts related to fuel efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and safety standards, whilst reviewing joint work underway at Working Party 29 of the UN-ECE in Geneva.
These international activities underline the fact that the automotive industry is a truly global industry committed to finding safer and cleaner mobility solutions in an increasingly challenging environment.
