Europe’s automotive suppliers welcome the conclusion of negotiations between the EU and China on a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment
in CLEPA, 30-12-2020
Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA secretary general, comments: “China is our industry’s second most important investment destination and European automotive suppliers are the biggest foreign investors in the sector in China. There are growing concerns that investment and market access conditions in China are uncertain and do not reflect the openness of the European market. A deal that secures and improves reciprocity in market access and investment conditions is therefore crucial for our industry and the protection of hundred thousands of jobs across the EU and China.”
European suppliers would support a deal that eliminates hurdles for investment in so-called new energy vehicles, provides enhanced protection of intellectual property and introduces more transparency and disciplines on state aid to establish a level playing field and reduce market distortions. Lastly, the deal could provide a meaningful institutional underpinning for cooperation between the EU and China to achieve climate neutrality and address human rights concerns.
CLEPA wants to acknowledge the efforts on both sides over the past seven years to come to an agreement. De Vries: “With the political decision to conclude negotiations being taken, it is now critical that the European Commission engages with all stakeholders to provide more clarity on the substance of the agreement. European suppliers currently lack sufficient detail on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment to assess whether the sector’s concerns are sufficiently addressed. CLEPA is ready to scrutinise the agreement in principle and contribute to the next steps.”
The European Association of Automotive Suppliers, CLEPA, welcomes the Christmas trade agreement between the EU and UK and thanks all parties involved for their commitment to getting a deal agreed. This deal represents the starting point to ensure the continuation of the cooperation for both sides.
in CLEPA, 24-12-2020
Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General, commented: “This deal avoids what would have been a worst-case scenario for European suppliers and the many jobs depending on the EU-UK trade relationship. Businesses and customs authorities now need The European Association of Automotive Suppliers, CLEPA, welcomes the Christmas trade agreement between the EU to work around the clock to get ready for the new trading conditions only one week before its implementation. We ask policy makers to engage with us to ensure trade in components is not needlessly being hit by tariffs and to avoid disruption at the border.”
CLEPA will analyse the technical details of the deal as soon as all the material is published to assess the extent into which this deal will serve the interests of the highly integrated EU/UK automotive supply chain, and refrain from commenting on the substance of the deal before then. Already certain is though that the deal will not avoid the resurrection of many trade barriers. We will therefore continue to work constructively with our partners in the EU and the UK to ensure that this free trade agreement proves a first building block rather than an end point.
About CLEPA
CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers based in Brussels, represents over 3.000 companies, from multi-nationals to SMEs, supplying state-of-the-art components and innovative technology for safe, smart and sustainable mobility, investing over 30 billion euros yearly in research and development. Automotive suppliers in Europe employ about five million people across the continent.
Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General of CLEPA comments on the Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility, adopted today by the European Commission:
in CLEPA, 09-12-2020
“A manageable transition, for the climate, industry and employment, rests on competitive technologies such as the internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell and battery electric vehicles. Only a transformation that is industrially successful and socially accepted can be sustainable politically and achieve the climate neutrality objective. A strategy that builds exclusively on battery and fuel cell electric vehicles contradicts the principle of technology openness and will neither achieve carbon neutrality nor support European competitiveness.”
The automotive suppliers in Europe, associated in CLEPA, support the Paris Agreement and the objective of climate neutrality for 2050. They are convinced that the way to climate neutrality is through a technology open environment that balances environmental, social as well as economic goals.
De Vries: “The question is not if, but how to best achieve climate neutrality. Climate policy must strive for effectiveness and efficiency in order to achieve the objective at a minimum cost to society. We underline, that an approach taking life-cycle or well-to-wheel emissions into account will create incentives for all technologies to reduce emissions and increase efficiency.”
CLEPA welcomes the Commission’s work on exploring an approach, including impact assessment, that takes into account the potential contribution of fuels fromsustainable renewable sources including the option of a voluntary crediting mechanism. It is positive that the Commission considers increasing targets for renewable energy and sustainable renewable fuels in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) to ramp up their development and deployment.
De Vries: “Climate-neutral internal combustion with fuels from sustainable renewable sources is a viable option. Supplying renewable energy and fuels for mobility along with the necessary infrastructure must be a priority for policy makers, including for road transport and not limited to other sectors. It is positive that the Communication recognises this, and we are keen on working further on the rules and conditions to make deployment of renewable energy and sustainable fuels from renewable sources a success. The targets of 3 million public charging points by 2030 and 500 hydrogen stations by 2025 are welcome. But the need will by far exceed these numbers, specifically if the CO2 emission targets for vehicles for the year 2030 were to be made tougher.”
CLEPA stands ready to contribute to the detailed design of the rules, regulations and definitions shaping the path ahead. For one, it will be important to keep the clear distinction between pollutant emissions and carbon emissions and to maintain the focus of the respective regulations.
CLEPA welcomes the Commission’s objective of designing a clear framework for artificial intelligence (AI). “Artificial intelligence is a key enabler for the automotive industry’s digital transformation. AI can also contribute to reducing the impact of transport on the environment, and significantly improve road safety”, says De Vries.
CLEPA supports a horizontal AI legislation addressing only high-risk AI applications and ensuring a level playing field for all actors. These principles can be complemented with technical requirements in sector-specific regulations (either new or by modifying existing legislation), if deemed necessary.
Availability and access to data from connected vehicles is still often hampered, as the strategy correctly points out. A European Common Mobility Data Space is welcome in principle but further details on the design and objectives are required to assess its added value.
CLEPA welcomes the objective of automated mobility being deployed on a large scale by 2030 and calls on the European Commission to speed up processes to create a harmonised EU legal approach for highly-automated applications as a precondition for reaching this goal.
ON 30 NOVEMBER 2020, CLEPA TOGETHER WITH 38 ASSOCIATIONS AND COMPANIES, COLLABORATIVELY SIGNED AND SENT A LETTER, CALLING ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO INCLUDE SUSTAINABLE RENEWABLE FUELS IN EU MOBILITY LEGISLATION.
The signatories of this joint letter represent a crucial part of the automotive, fuel, energy industry and civil society in Europe, i.e. a combined force behind the transformation of EU mobility towards climate neutrality in a smart and sustainable way.
The European Union has set itself the ambitious objective of becoming climate neutral by 2050 and consequently raised its 2030 climate target. Whether the objective will be achieved and what impact this will have on EU competitiveness and employment strongly depends on the design of a suite of climate policies for the coming years. Transport and future mobility will be a central element of these policies. The EU’s long-term climate strategy cannot rely solely on the development of new technologies and infrastructures; it must embrace a diverse portfolio of solutions in parallel, including existing sustainable renewable liquid and gaseous fuel solutions that can reduce greenhouse gases starting today.
Against this ambition, the EU Commission will outline the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and revise important mobility and energy legislations, such as CO2 emissions standard for cars, vans and also heavy-duty vehicles. These upcoming revisions are the timely opportunity to implement a truly technology neutral approach by including the contribution to emissions reduction achieved using sustainable renewable fuels.
This recommendation aligns with the following principles, crucial to achieve a carbon neutral road transport sector in Europe:
Technology and fuel diversity towards 2050 – With increased climate targets there is added urgency for transport to accelerate its path towards net-zero emissions. To facilitate this acceleration, a broad portfolio of solutions is necessary to support the full spectrum of geographic, economic and vocational market demands. Considering the lack of a “one-size-fits-all solution”, it is imperative that all low carbon options, including alternative and renewable fuels, play a role in the energy transition not only on the existing fleet but also for new vehicles to curb the GHG emissions from the road transport sector across all the EU countries.
Coupling the efforts for the expansion of the sustainable renewable fuels market with further improvement of vehicle efficiency – Despite gains in fuel efficiency, increased demand for personal mobility and freight transport have led to increased CO2 emissions from road transport. It is necessary to leverage all available solutions to reverse this trend and accelerate the decarbonisation of the sector. Accelerating the production of sustainable renewable fuels, accompanied by continued development of a range of new vehicles optimised for these fuels, can have a climate-positive impact today via the existing and future vehicle fleet for both passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles.
Enabling a competitive, sustainable market till 2050 – Many publications have shown that relying on full electrification alone will not result in climate neutrality in 2050. Products and solutions need to be placed according to their mission profile, where they are more necessary and accommodating the market demand. Conventional fuels and engine technologies provide a stream of revenues for vehicle manufacturers that can continuously be invested into alternative powertrains and solutions, according to the mission segment. As global players, vehicle manufacturers will maintain a central role in delivering innovative products, also in other parts of the world.
Integrating a growing rate of renewables in the market to practice the circular economy while seizing industrial opportunities – Sustainable renewable fuels technologies offer sectorial integration with the waste management and the agricultural sectors. This enables a clever approach to treat waste materials, which would have otherwise been disposed with the consequent emissions, while producing sustainable energy and, at the same time, high quality by-products like bio-fertiliser. This is a landmark example of circular economy targeting emissions in agriculture and waste. At the same time, the production of sustainable renewable fuel technologies involves a long value-chain, from renewable energy systems to components, taking place mostly in Europe. Sustainable renewable fuels value chain can contribute to create many new jobs and to maintain industrial leadership, while strengthening the cooperation with third-countries on innovative energy projects to speed up the energy transition.
System affordability – It is key to avert mobility poverty and to avoid a two-speed Europe while heading towards a carbon neutral mobility system. Being based on proven engine technologies and an already structured distribution network, sustainable renewable fuels are the most cost-efficient way to contribute to the decarbonisation process at the lowest possible cost to society. Besides the cost in relation to emission reductions, it is important to consider the impact on industrial competitiveness, innovation, affordability, and employment to ensure a fair transition for all European citizens.
Our industries are ready to contribute to a technology-open, ambitious but pragmatic regulatory framework to drive the decarbonisation of EU road transport.
