Brussels, 14 May 2020 – CEOs from across the automotive value chain came together for a meeting with the European Commission to align on the priorities for a solid recovery plan for the automotive sector, with a view to stimulating the wider economy and bolstering the transformation to a carbon-neutral society.
CEOs of vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers, as well as their respective associations – the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) – held constructive discussions with Frans Timmermans, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for the Green Deal, and Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, during a conference call yesterday evening.
With extended factory closures across Europe, a loss in production of 2.4 million vehicles so far and car sales down by more than 95% in major EU markets last month, the whole sector is at risk of liquidity shortages and sees its performance threatened for some time to come. The situation in the automotive industry has a significant knock-on effect on other parts of the economy.
“The number one priority of the industry is to re-launch the market, thereby enabling production to resume at manufacturing sites across the EU,” stated ACEA Director General, Eric-Mark Huitema. “Given the near-total collapse in sales, it will be crucial to provide a strong market stimulus to enable vehicle makers to fully re-open production facilities and keep people in jobs.”
During the meeting, ACEA and CLEPA called on the European Commission to coordinate national fleet renewal schemes to ensure that the market conditions are harmonised across the continent, and to supplement these with the EU budget.
“As we work on putting the wheels back in motion, we must look for win-win solutions, addressing the pressing environmental, industrial and broader societal needs,” said Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General. “The purpose of recovery measures should therefore be two-fold: to re-start the industry and to employ the full range of technology solutions that are available and needed for carbon-neutrality. Hand in hand with investments in renewable energy carriers and infrastructure, this will propel the Green Deal as well as safeguard employment and industrial activity in Europe.”
Although vehicle and component production is slowly starting to pick up again, there are huge discrepancies amongst member states. This is hampering the recovery of an industry that depends on supply chains spanning right across the European continent. The CEOs therefore re-iterated their plea for a coordinated re-start of activities and investments along the entire value chain.
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Notes for editors
- CEOs and other industry participants present at the meeting:
- ACEA
- BMW Group; Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management
- CNH Industrial; Suzanne Heywood, CEO
- Daimler AG; Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG & Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars
- Daimler Truck AG; Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management
- DAF; Harry Wolters, President
- Ferrari; Michael Leiters, Chief Technology Officer
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Mike Manley, Chief Executive Officer and President ACEA
- Honda Motor Europe; Ian Howells, Senior Vice President
- IVECO; Gerrit Marx, President Commercial and Specialty Vehicles
- Jaguar Land Rover; Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer
- MAN Truck & Bus AG; Joachim Drees, CEO
- Scania AB; Henrik Henriksson, President & CEO and Chairman ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board
- Toyota Motor Europe; Didier Leroy, Chairman of the Board of Management
- Volvo Car Group; Mårten Levenstam, Head of Product Strategy
- Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles; Thomas Sedran, CEO and Chairman ACEA Light Commercial Vehicle General Managers’ Committee
- CLEPA
- Faurecia; Patrick Koller, Chief Executive Officer
- Robert Bosch; Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Management
- ZF Friedrichshafen; Wolf-Henning Scheider, Chief Executive Officer
- CLEPA; Thorsten Muschal, President (member of the board of Faurecia)
- ACEA
- The action plan ’25 actions for a successful restart of the EU’s automotive sector’ can be found here: https://www.acea.be/publications/article/paper-25-actions-for-a-successful-restart-of-the-eus-automotive-sector
About the EU automobile industry
- 13.8 million Europeans work in the auto industry (directly and indirectly), accounting for 6.1% of all EU jobs.
- 11.4% of EU manufacturing jobs – some 3.5 million – are in the automotive sector.
- Motor vehicles account for €440.4 billion in taxes in key European markets.
- The automobile industry generates a trade surplus of €84.4 billion for the EU.
- The turnover generated by the auto industry represents over 7% of EU GDP.
- Investing €57.4 billion in R&D annually, the automotive sector is Europe’s largest private contributor to innovation, accounting for 28% of total EU spending.
About ACEA
- ACEA represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus manufacturers: BMW Group, CNH Industrial, DAF Trucks, Daimler, Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Jaguar Land Rover, PSA Group, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, and Volvo Group.
- More information about ACEA can be found on www.acea.be or www.twitter.com/ACEA_eu.
- Contact: Cara McLaughlin, Communications Director, [email protected], +32 485 88 66 47.
About CLEPA
- CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, represents over 3,000 companies supplying state-of-the-art components and innovative technology for safe, smart and sustainable mobility, investing over 25 billion euros yearly in research and development. Automotive suppliers in Europe directly and indirectly employ nearly five million people across the continent.
- More information about CLEPA can be found on https://clepa.eu/ or https://twitter.com/CLEPA_eu.
- Contact: Clara Guillén, Communications Manager, +32 491 719 249, [email protected].