Month: December 2019

Green deal needs to balance climate protection, economy and social dimension

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Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented today the Communication on the European Green Deal, detailing next steps in climate policy, including the announcement of a proposal to enshrine the 2050 climate neutrality objective in legislation. The Commission also sets out to adopt proposals for specific sectors, such as a revision of the CO2 standards for light duty vehicles, deployment of charging infrastructure, support for alternative fuels and more stringent pollutant emission standards.

in CLEPA, 11-12-2019

Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General of CLEPA, the association of the automotive suppliers’ industry in Europe, comments:

“The automotive suppliers of Europe are a driving force behind the transformation to sustainable, safe and smart mobility. We support the Paris agreement and are ready to contribute to a reliable, technology-open and ambitious regulatory framework to achieve its objectives. We urge the European legislators to build on Europe’s strengths — the single market, the continent’s advanced technology competence, its high value-add industrial base and global competitiveness — and to provide the supportive regulatory framework needed to master the monumental tasks unfolding.”

“Ideally, climate policies would be deeply intertwined with a coherent industrial strategy, which ensures that environmental, economic and social policies are balanced. Such balance is precarious and climate protection must condition the strategies towards a sustainable economy as much as the social and economic dimensions should.”

“The recently agreed CO2 limits for cars are the world’s most ambitious and will spark real progress towards defossilisation and cleaner air. An earlier revision of the CO2 standards may provide a good opportunity to take stock of progress and to examine whether industry and society are on the right path. However, such revision cannot realistically include a renewed debate on the level of ambition so shortly after adoption. Focus should now turn to enabling the transformation.”

“We advocate for an even more intense and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders concerned.  In the crucial and highly-complex area of electrification, we now first and urgently need to enable scale. This means forging a high level of collaboration across Europe to secure the necessary charging infrastructure, stepping up renewable energy generation, promoting green public procurement, and enabling development and production of next-generation batteries.”

“There is additional decarbonisation potential in the car fleet which can be realised without changing the current CO2 regulation. This includes making the use of e-fuels a reality by putting binding targets in the revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive and Renewable Energy Directive, establishing the emission trading system for the road transport sector, promoting the modal shift via Eurovignette and Combined Transport Directives, improving the prospects for hydrogen and increasing investment in R&D.”

“Automotive suppliers are technology solution providers and stand ready to work together towards the common objectives.”

 

European automotive suppliers call for Digital Single Market for Mobility and masterplan for the mobility industry

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  • Call for action to unleash potential of connected and automated driving
  • Transition to safe, sustainable and smart mobility needs urgent, concerted action
  • Strategic autonomy in new mobility will underpin global competitiveness of the sector
  • Suppliers’ vision presented at landmark CLEPA 60th anniversary event

in CLEPA, 04-12-2019

The European automotive supply industry calls on the new European Commission to establish a Digital Single Market for Mobility to unleash the potential of connected mobility and automated driving as well as support reaching environmental targets included in the European Green Deal. This should go hand in hand with a European masterplan for the mobility industry to harness the potential of technology, strengthen European competitiveness, address key infrastructure needs (both in the fields of energy & digital communication) and ensure safe, sustainable and smart mobility as a cornerstone of society.

 

“The urgency to deliver is extremely high”, said Roberto Vavassori, CLEPA President and member of the management board of Brembo, the Italian braking systems specialist. “As citizens, we expect innovative solutions to transition towards a sustainable economy, to embed digital opportunities in our daily lives in a safe and secure manner, as well as for Europe to remain competitive worldwide. As businesses, we contribute our world-leading industrial competence and our ability to provide solutions.’

 

The automotive industry is undergoing its biggest transformation in over a hundred years, with mobility becoming increasingly electric, connected, automated and shared. European automotive suppliers hold an impressive 40% of global revenue in the sector and are a major pillar under the European economy.

 

 “We urge the European legislators to build on Europe’s strengths — the single market, the continent’s advanced technology competence and its high value-add industrial base — and to provide the supportive regulatory framework needed to master the monumental tasks unfolding”, said the CLEPA President. “We have to be world leader in environmental and digital technology, we want to offer the best range of options for people and businesses to move around, and we need the conditions to let companies manufacture and employ in Europe.”

 

The supplier industry, represented by CLEPA and comprised of multinational companies such as Bosch, Faurecia, Valeo and ZF as well as thousands of mid-sized and small enterprises across the EU, presented their vision on the future of mobility and industry today in Brussels, with a landmark event titled “Future As We Move – Shaping Solutions For Mobility”, entering into active dialogue with leading European politicians including Peter Altmaier, minister of Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany, Bruno Le Maire, minister of Economy and Finance of France and Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights.

 

For Europe to secure strategic autonomy in the field of ‘new mobility’, which is safe, sustainable and smart, and to compete effectively with other world regions, there are high levels of investments needed in renewable energy, energy infrastructure, secure and fast connectivity as well as in critical technologies, innovation and skills.

 

Connected mobility and automated driving can greatly benefit society by increasing safety, reducing congestion and pollution, facilitating electrification and wider resource efficiency, and by enabling data-fuelled mobility and transport services that support modern society. European automotive suppliers are strongly present in this fast-developing field and lead globally in patent applications.

 

Digitalisation of mobility also requires the appropriate regulatory framework to bring safe vehicles on the market and define solutions for liability, ethical standards, cybersecurity and fair competition for data-based services in and around the vehicle and other mobility devices. Remaining barriers in the Single Market should be removed.

 

“We do have an internal market for automotive products but not for automated driving or for electromobility”, said Vavassori. “Yet, success or failure depends on market acceptance, which in turn relies on a supportive and harmonised European playing field. Specifically, with regard to electrification, this boils down to the availability of renewable energy, of charging points and smart charging, of financial and practical incentives and easiness of use. Ambitious vehicle targets have been set; industry is delivering the technologies. Now, charging infrastructure on the required scale as well as the distribution and generation of renewable energy and measures to encourage consumer acceptance are indispensable.”

 

Automotive suppliers also strongly stress the value of a technology neutral regulatory environment to maintain Europe’s competitiveness worldwide. To reach the goal of a climate-neutral Europe, CLEPA therefore advocates a policy approach based on life-cycle assessment beyond 2030, to ensure technology solutions can compete on an equal basis by taking into account their sustainability over the life cycle, as well as their contribution to security of supply, system stability and flexibility.  Suppliers also see a strong role for hydrogen and derived fuels and gases.

 

A functioning, reliable and innovation-friendly legal framework across European borders will be essential too in light of global competition and tendencies to depart from open and rules-based access to global markets.

 

 

CLEPA 60th anniversary celebration peaks with a landmark event in Brussels

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Over 300 participants attended the  “Future As We Move – Shaping Solutions For Mobility” event yesterday in Brussels, organised by CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, featuring a conference opened by France’s Minister for Finance and Economy, Bruno Le Maire, and Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier. Their speeches were followed by the presentations from the industry leaders Volkmar Denner, CEO of Robert Bosch; Jordi Lombarte, CTO of Autoliv; Jörg Stratmann, CEO of MAHLE and Ingo Stürmer, Global Engineering Director for ADAS and Autonomous Driving of Aptiv. 

in CLEPA, 05-12-2019

The subsequent panel debate focused on European technology leadership and the mechanisms needed to harness the power of innovation. The panel was made up of representatives of regional authorities (Claudia Suppan, Coordinator CoRAI – Committee of the Regions – Automotive Intergroup), the EU institutions (Member of the Parliament, Vlad-Marius Botos), and industry represented by Patrick Koller, CEO of Faurecia, Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO of ZF, and the start-up founder Jon Lindén, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Ekkono. The conference closed with remarks from the new European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit.

To emerge in the vision that CLEPA and its members share, attendees had the opportunity to discover the latest technologies from leading automotive supplier companies in the Techxpedition, an interactive exhibition that immersed the participants in the future of mobility. Over 20 companies showcased their innovative solutions that embodied the four pillars of CLEPA’s vision of mobility for the future: safe, sustainable, smart and competitive.

Looking towards a future that is sustainable, a wide variety of solutions were presented such as fuel cell technology, water injection systems, automotive parts made from smart bioplastics, electro chargers, plug-in hybrid transmissions, dust and air filter systems and sustainable mobility ecosystems. 

Envisioning a future with zero casualties, our technology leaders displayed airbags for pedestrian protection, warning systems for endangered drivers, vehicle alerting systems for pedestrians, unattended child detection signals and driver monitoring systems. 

Preparing a future that is smart and connected, our participants were immersed in virtual reality experiences, such as voice-activated navigation control, incremental machine learning, intelligent charging systems and EV intelligent range predictions. 

And, with connectivity transforming mobility as we know it, our automotive suppliers showcased a marketplace platform for new businesses to build customer bases, software-based solutions and the latest developments in automotive technology, communication systems between vehicles and road users, and technology present in vehicles’ structures. 

Thank you to Autoliv, Bosch, Brigade, Caruso-dataplace, CLEPA Light.Sight.Safety Group, Continental, Denso, Ekkono, Faurecia, Gestamp, IEE, Mahle, Mann+Hummel, Plastic Omnium, Röchling Automotive, Schaeffler, Spark EV Technology, Valeo, Yazaki and ZF for showcasing the future of mobility.  

The anniversary event ended with a celebratory dinner, with a reflective speech by the departing CLEPA president, Roberto Vavassori, and an exchange about Europe and the future of industry between Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General, and Günther Oettinger, the former European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, to recognise his work and the legacy he leaves behind.