Automobile industry leaders meet President Barroso

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.”