Automobile industry leaders meet President Barroso

Brussels, 14 June 2013 – The heads of Europe’s automobile manufacturers today urged top Commission officials to foster a more supportive legislative framework for the industry.

The Board of Directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) was received this morning by José Manuel Barroso, European Commission President, on the occasion of the association’s Annual General Assembly. The CEOs present were ACEA President Sergio Marchionne (Fiat), Norbert Reithofer (BMW), Stephen Odell (Ford of Europe), Karl-Thomas Neumann (GM Europe), Byung-Kwon Rhim (Hyundai Motor Europe), Ralf Speth (Jaguar Land Rover) and Philippe Varin (PSA Peugeot Citroën). Accompanied by ACEA Secretary General, Ivan Hodac, they made a number of calls to Barroso on behalf of the European industry:
- To legislate on the basis of facts and sound impact assessments. For instance, the proposed limit values in the ongoing noise dossier often go beyond technological reality. Also the current discussions on long-term targets for CO2 emissions are politically-motivated and taken out of global context.
- To grant sufficient lead-time. The lead-time given to the industry is too short on a number of proposals, such as eCall and noise.
- To adopt an ‘integrated approach’ involving all relevant stakeholders. This is currently missing from some dossiers, including road safety and CO2.
- To align trade and industrial policy. This will help strengthen Europe’s manufacturing base.
- To strike a more realistic balance between the competitiveness of the industry and environmental concerns. This will help ensure that the industry retains its technological and environmental edge.
Later addressing Vice-President Tajani and other stakeholders, Mr Marchionne said: “Our sector is ready to support Europe on its ‘mission growth’ of boosting industry’s share of GDP to 20% by 2020. But in order to be able to adapt to changing demands, we need a supportive framework. A framework that will foster our sector’s competitiveness – ultimately that will stimulate growth, jobs and investment, benefiting the European economy as a whole.”
Notes for editors
About ACEA
- The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) represents the 14 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
- Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.twitter.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/.
Contact:
- Cara McLaughlin, Communications Director, cm@acea.auto, +32 485 88 66 47.
- Ben Kennard, Content Editor and Press Manager, bk@acea.auto, +32 487 39 21 82
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About the EU automobile industry
- 13.0 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
- 11.5% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
- €374.6 billion in tax revenue for European governments
- €101.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
- Over 7% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
- €59.1 billion in R&D spending annually, 31% of EU total