Category: Automotive Industry

News about Automotive Industry

CLEPA | Net-zero industry: EU policy measures need to match international competition

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CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Critical Raw Materials and a Net-Zero Industry Act as part of the green industrial transformation in Europe.

in CLEPA, 16-03-2023

However, the association calls for the inclusion of the following principles to ensure a successful and competitive transition to a net-zero industry:

  • EU policy measures should match international competition in magnitude and time horizon to avoid investments being redirected
  • A holistic long-term industrial strategy should fast track permitting procedures and financially support upscaling of green and smart mobility and manufacturing
  • Access to skilled workforce and reinforcement of existing R&I programs will be essential enablers of a successful net-zero industry
  • Reduction of regulatory burden, and a technology open and market oriented approach will be key
    Automotive suppliers fulfill a crucial role in five of the six identified critical value chains, however, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and high energy costs increasingly impact investment decisions.

Therefore, EU-funded instruments and policy measures should match policies of other trade blocks to avoid investments being redirected.

CLEPA Secretary General, Benjamin Krieger states, “The EU needs a holistic industrial strategy and the proposals are a first step. However, focusing on production targets for specific technologies overlooks the crucial role of critical value chains and smart manufacturing towards the long-term success of Europe. Industrial strategic objectives risk being undermined by incoherent regulations, an overload of bureaucratic requirements and a focus on technologies instead of objectives.”

The green transition will require increased focus on access to raw materials, circularity and resilient sourcing from as many trade partners as possible. The CRMA can support automotive suppliers in diversifying sourcing, strengthening the EU’s material supply chain and fostering circularity. Nevertheless, supply chain related reporting requirements and targets for use of recovered materials should be reasonable to avoid undermining business cases. The Act could contribute to our industry’s resilience, but will not secure the EU’s competitiveness.

The NZIA should anchor the EU’s long-term industrial strategy and provide investors with certainty that the EU is committed to stay an attractive place to invest. An EU funded program would be the best instrument to implement a strategy that will enable an unprecedented industrial transformation, both in terms of scale and pace.

The Commission and member states together have mobilised significant funds, but opportunities are scattered, lack scale and are difficult to access. The temporary adjustment of state aid framework can therefore, at best, be an intermediate solution to allow member states to limit the worst impact of the IRA and energy costs.

The Commission must develop a five to ten-year funding framework based on objectives linked to the green and digital transition for the fourteen industrial ecosystems and six critical value chains identified in 2021, building on globally integrated value chains and driving the further integration of the EU Single Market. Companies can then invest with confidence to scale the production of green and circular technologies and manufacturing processes.

 

 

Novacoat celebrates important milestone

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Novacoat celebrates painting over 2.5 million parts since the beginning of 2022!

in Novacaot, 01-03-2023

We are thrilled to mark this significant milestone for Novacoat and we would like to thank our entire team of employees, customers and suppliers for their role in making this possible.

It is with pride that we can say cars produced by leading OEMs were equipped with parts painted by Novacoat.

This milestone is a testament to Novacoat’s continued commitment to providing high quality painting solutions to our customers.

Our success would not have been possible without the collaboration of everyone involved, and for that we would like to thank everyone for their dedication and hard work.

We continue to look forward to working with our partners, customers and suppliers to provide market-leading painting solutions to meet the needs of the automotive and general industry.

Thank you all for your dedication and continued support!

 

https://novacoat.pt/

 

 

CLEPA | Balancing ambition and reality in the Mobility Transition: Enabling conditions crucial for success

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The adoption of the proposed revision of the CO2 standards for heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) opens one of the last high profile public debates for the auto industry in this legislative period. The Commission calls a target of zero emissions at the tailpipe of city buses as of 2030. Trucks need to achieve a 90% CO2 reduction in 2040, with a significantly more ambitious trajectory over the 2030 and 2035 milestones than the current rules.

in CLEPA, by Benjamin Krieger, 23-02-2023

Together with flexibility in the definition of a zero-emission vehicle this makes a signal for technology diversity which is welcome. Electrification and hydrogen in fuel cells and the hydrogen engine will play an important role in the climate neutral mobility and transport of the future, but we need a realistic path to achieve it.

The very ambitious intermediate targets set in 2030 (45%) and 2035 (65%) represent a potential bottleneck that could harm and slow down the pace of the transition, if not supported by a reduction of technology costs and substantial policies that provide the needed infrastructure and encourage vehicle purchase. For the same reasons, the 2030 objectives fixed just four years ago were already uncertain. Achieving a sufficient level of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) penetration in time is a significant challenge.

No single energy carrier and technology fits all user’s needs and use-cases. If sustainable renewable fuels would be considered for compliance in the CO? Regulation for HDVs, Europe could immediately accelerate the decarbonisation of the commercial transport sector including the existing fleet and provide flexibility to companies which need more time to invest in zero emission technology. However, the regulation does not give any impulse for the deployment of renewable fuels.

Putting all this pressure on the industry without all the necessary enabling conditions in place, transition risks missing its objectives and being detrimental to the competitiveness of the European companies. We will not succeed in the transition with ambitious targets alone, we need equal ambition on the rollout of a dense network of charging and refuelling points, availability of renewable fuels, hydrogen, and electricity, raw materials, and affordable vehicles.

 

Benjamin Krieger

CLEPA Secretary General

 

 

CLEPA | CO2 standards for HDVs: Intermediate targets require massive deployment of charging and refuelling infrastructure

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  • The 2030 and 2035 targets set by the Commission are extremely ambitious
  • The 2040 target allows for tech diversity, but enabling conditions remain uncertain

in CLEPA, 14-02-2023

The European Commission has today published its revision of the CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), proposing extremely ambitious intermediate targets in 2030 (45%) and in 2035 (65%). Although the proposal allows for technology diversity, with a 90% target in 2040, enabling conditions remain a major concern.

CLEPA Secretary General, Benjamin Krieger, states: “To decarbonise logistics, the EU needs affordable, climate-neutral solutions. We appreciate maintaining technology diversity by not setting a phase-out mandate, however, the increase in 2030 and 2035 targets is very challenging. Only four years ago the 2030 target was set, which was already ambitious, and this target should be fixed.”

The fulfilment of the conditions for the penetration of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) needed to meet the existing 30% reduction target in 2030 is already uncertain, as it requires both accelerated reduction of technology costs and substantial policies that support infrastructure and encourage vehicle purchase.

CLEPA urges policymakers not to increase the 2030 target and consider a reasonable trajectory towards 2035. For the transition to succeed, we cannot rely on setting targets alone. Enabling conditions like charging and refuelling infrastructure as well as renewable electricity, hydrogen and fuels, must be secured. Afterall, commercial road transport is a B2B market driven by demand, which encompasses a broad range of use-cases and operator needs, demanding a wide array of affordable clean technology options.

The proposal also neglects to include a comprehensive approach to measuring the actual carbon footprint of a vehicle, focusing solely on tailpipe emissions. CLEPA advocates for an LCA approach, starting with well-to-wheel as a first step. Europe risks lagging behind other regions if it does not undertake the work of developing a harmonised standard for Europe.

CLEPA appreciates that the proposal includes a review clause in 2028, which will be of utmost importance to gauge progress on enabling conditions, and other external factors such as affordable and renewable energy availability.

Find out more

CLEPA Position Paper on CO2 Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles

 

 

AFIA visits its Associate EPALFER

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AFIA, represented by the Secretary-General, visited EPALFER and was welcomed by the Managers, Eduardo Oliveira and Paulo Henriques, and by Sales & Business Development, Alexandre Mateus.

in AFIA, 08-02-2023

EPALFER – Engineering & Tooling started its activity in 2002 and since then has been dedicated to the design and manufacture of Progressive & Transfer tools for the automotive industry as well as prototypes and pre-series in Metal for various sectors (automotive, railway, renewable energy).

Between 2015 and 2021 EPALFER invested more than 8 million euros in the modernization and acquisition of equipment, and in 2022/2023 it invested 3 million euros in a new pavilion and equipment for the manufacture of prototypes and pre-series in metal.

“Supported by the best software and production equipment, our team makes our customers more competitive by presenting part and assembly design solutions, optimizing material consumption and increasing production rates, thus obtaining a metal component with the best quality and lowest price”, commented the Manager Eduardo Oliveira.

In recent years, EPALFER’s export rate has been around 80%, with a large part of what it incorporates coming from Portugal or Europe.

EPALFER continues to walk its path under the motto “A Passion for Sheet Metal Forming” and is committed to decarbonization for sustainable growth, having installed 1500 photovoltaic panels.

EPALFER is headquartered in Águeda and is certified by the ISO 9001:2015 standard.

For more information, consult the EPALFER website at:

 

www.epalfer.com

Outlook 2023: Investment support will be key for a successful mobility transition

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The last few years have been challenging for the automotive sector, which has to manage the green and digital transition, despite the impact of the pandemic, the devastating war in Ukraine, supply chain shortages, volatile prices, protectionist measures abroad and the risk of a recession. Even so, the industry has shown great resilience and continues to invest and deliver on carbon-neutral mobility. There is no crystal ball, but three factors will indeed be important for the year ahead.

in CLEPA, by Thorsten Muschal, 26-01-2023

Three market trends shaping the automotive supply industry

1 – Policymakers need to support industry investments in innovation and manufacturing in the EU

Automotive suppliers, who provide over 70% of a vehicle’s value and deliver the innovation for climate-neutral mobility, are essential to the success of the green transition.

Despite ongoing challenges, such as access to raw materials, rising costs for energy, labour and transport, suppliers have cut costs and maintained investments in R&D: as of today more than 55% of R&D in the automotive industry is financed by suppliers.

However, 70% of suppliers saw their profitability drop to levels that could start to undermine their ability to invest in R&D, the workforce, and new business activities. This endangers needed investments by suppliers which are essential for the future of the industry. In 2023, regulatory action and public financial support will be crucial for maintaining the EU’s global leadership position and ensuring a stronger, greener future.

2 – Energy and supply of materials remain factors of uncertainty

Gas prices in the EU continue to be significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels and five times higher than in the US, despite recent price drops. This, coupled with significant public investment in the US, could undermine the business case for investment in the EU. Production backlogs and a COVID-19 recovery in China could support global vehicle demand but could also create LNG scarcity, a risk for European energy supplies towards winter.

Raw material prices and availability are continued concerns going into 2023. Demand for battery raw materials is likely to surpass supply, driving up prices and pushing back the timeframe for EV and ICE cost parity. A new spike of energy costs could further undermine energy-intensive industries in Europe and lead to local issues in sourcing steel, aluminium and chemical products.

Industry cannot absorb such high costs in the long-term, especially in the face of competition from other major markets like China and the US. Political action is needed to avoid new import dependencies and to ensure access to affordable energy and raw materials. All energy carriers have a role to play.

3 – Production levels will not reach levels like before the pandemic, competition for electric vehicle market share getting tougher

At the end of 2022, production backlogs were still double the average and inventories remain unusually low. Forecasts show that production within the EU will grow by up to 5% compared to 2022. Still, production volumes of around 13.9 million vehicles are still far away from pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, nearly 45% of new vehicles will be electrified (including mild hybrids). Battery electric vehicle production volumes are set to grow by 50%, reaching a production level of close to two million vehicles.

The question becomes, how much of the EVs will be made in Europe? Chinese and US vehicle manufacturers present an increasingly competitive challenge. High production costs compared to other regions could also mean relocating plants outside the EU. It is imperative that we maintain a global level playing field to ultimately speed up decarbonisation in the EU automotive sector.

A holistic approach is needed to reach climate-neutral mobility

Industrial policy and adoption of the Fit for 55 package will dominate the policy agenda in 2023. CLEPA will continue to underline that the green and digital transition can only be delivered if policymakers put the right framework conditions in place. 2023 will require a rethink of industrial policy, including state aid rules and smarter use of public funds across the EU, but also concrete progress on delivering charging and refuelling infrastructure and ensuring access to finance and data for automotive suppliers. The EU’s future as an automotive manufacturing powerhouse will not be secured by formulating ambitious targets in regulation alone.

Digital innovation in the mobility ecosystem would benefit from a sector-specific regulation that ensures equal access to data. Access to capital is also crucial to finance investments in the green mobility transformation. Policymakers should urgently repair the EU’s classification system for its sustainable finance taxonomy to ensure that investors also consider the most critical parts of the supply chain.

Finally, two key emissions regulations, the recently published EURO 7 regulation and the upcoming CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles, should be considered in a comprehensive way. The industry will need enough lead time to develop and implement new EURO 7 technologies, and for trucks, cost parity will be the key issue.

Automotive suppliers are committed to making climate-neural mobility the backbone of road transport, and stand ready to work with policymakers and stakeholders this year and beyond.

 

Thorsten Muschal
CLEPA President and Group Executive Vice President of Sales and Program Management, FORVIA

 

Innovation is key to preserve Europe´s leadership in the mobility sector

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CLEPA, together with the European Forum for Manufacturing, hosted a dinner debate at the European Parliament yesterday, focusing on the importance of innovation for preserving and boosting European leadership in the mobility sector.

in CLEPA, 06-12-2018

The dinner-debate “Driving innovation forward” hosted by Members of the Parliament John Procter and Andor Deli, was attended by several other MEPs, European Commission officials and industry representatives, among others. The two winners of the CLEPA 2018 Innovation Awards – Plastic Omnium in the category Environment and Bosch in the category for Safety — were among the speakers that highlighted the benefits of continuous investment in research and development.

 

Innovation is crucial in the mobility sector as it contributes to sustainable and efficient transport and supports European competitiveness. Over the last years, European automotive suppliers have invested more than €22 billion per annum in innovative technologies putting them at the forefront of developments.

 

Innovation is closing the gap to achieve society’s 2050 environmental and safety targets. Automotive suppliers support a holistic approach that rewards innovation and efficiency and brings synergies between technologies, policies, infrastructures and sectors. Safety innovations are an equally essential and rich avenue for development, contributing to support Europe´s industrial competitiveness.

 

CLEPA organises the yearly Innovation Awards competition, that recognises the accomplishments made by European automotive system and component manufacturers in the areas of Environment, Safety, Connectivity, Automation and Cooperation.

 

Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General commented: “It is increasingly important to develop new technologies and systems for an ever-higher performance in terms of safety, sustainability, connectivity and seamless mobility. Companies largely carry these investments themselves, injecting substantial revenues back into their product development. However, support from funding programmes remains highly important to boost pre-competitive and collaborative research involving universities, research organisations, industry, SMEs, and other actors research. Here, Europe can continue to play an important role in support of global leadership.”

 

On his opening speech, MEP John Procter highlighted “There is clear need for supporting R&D In Europe. The development of research, supply, processing and production strategies into light-weight component construction developments is crucial for advancement in a low-carbon transition in the automotive sector”. Also, MEP Andor Deli commented “technology neutrality must prevail, based on a ?well-to-wheel? approach on vehicle emissions. There is a request to the European Commission to propose a methodology for this by the end of 2022” also, he subscribed the importance of having an innovation strategy on the CEE countries that “aims to attract the research and development teams of the automotive OEMs for not just traditional but also autonomous driving”

 

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More information about CLEPA Innovation Awards here

2018 Awarded innovations brochure 

Videos from the winners in our YouTube channel

 

The policy papers and pictures from the event will be available next week at the European Forum for Manufacturing website   http://www.euromanuforum.com/

 

 

 

CO2 targets – Automotive suppliers urge co-legislators to take into account the risk for employment

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Member States in the Council have adopted their position (‘general approach’) on the regulation for CO2 targets for cars and vans. Environment ministers decided to raise the target for cars for 2030 by 5 percentage points to 35%, raise the threshold of the mechanism to incentivise zero and low emission vehicles by 5 percentage points to 35% whilst better weighting low emission vehicles in the mechanism.

 

in CLEPA, 10-10-2018

 

“Both the European Parliament and the governments in the Council have now opted to increase the level of ambition. Automotive suppliers see the targets that have been proposed by the European Commission as challenging yet balanced. Going strongly beyond the Commission proposal carries risks to the industrial footprint of the automotive suppliers industry in Europe, putting high-value jobs in the balance”, says Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General of the association of the automotive suppliers industry (CLEPA). “Automotive suppliers advocate an ambitious transformation rather than negative disruption.”

 

“It will be crucial to not set the targets too high and provide the right boundary conditions through a positive incentive mechanism for low and zero emission vehicles. Specifically, a ‘malus’ as requested by the Parliament will have a negative effect. Better weighting of low emission vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids, is positive”, says de Vries.

 

“Only a technology neutral regulation will ensure that emissions will be reduced efficiently. However, there is strong pressure towards favouring battery-electric vehicles at the expense of other solutions, such as hybridisation and alternative fuels, which have a major potential to contribute to decarbonisation. Furthermore, it will be important to confirm that the step forward to well-to-wheel or life-cycle analysis will be done in future legislation.”

 

“Automotive suppliers fully support the goal of decarbonising mobility and produce a wealth of technologies to achieve this. It is a declared aim to remain globally competitive with a large variety of smart, safe and green mobility-related technologies, supporting the jobs of five million people in Europe today. Competitive regulation supporting both the environment as well as employment is a key to Europe’s success.”

 

Tripartite negotiations between Council, European Parliament and Commission are scheduled to begin today.

Automotive suppliers urge co-legislators to stay with CO2 targets proposed by European Commission

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“The European Commission proposal of a 30% reduction is a challenging yet realistic target, based on a thorough evaluation of the various elements at stake, environmental priorities prevailing”, comments Roberto Vavassori, President of CLEPA, the association of the automotive suppliers’ industry. “We call on the co-legislators not to go beyond the original proposal. Any target above 30% is exposing our industry to a concrete risk of disruption.”

 

Member States are expected to take a decision on their position on October 9 at the Environment Council. Once both institutions have adopted their respective positions, tripartite negotiations will resume with the aim of agreeing and adopting the legislation.

 

“Automotive suppliers fully support the goal of decarbonising mobility and produce a wealth of technologies to achieve this. Technology neutrality is an important compass which regulators should not abandon, as it enables the deployment of the broadest spectrum of solutions. Today´s vote, however, favours Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) at the expense of other solutions, such as hybridisation and alternative fuels, which have a major potential to contribute to decarbonisation as well,” adds Vavassori.

 

“It is our declared aim to remain globally competitive with a large variety of smart, safe and green mobility-related technologies, supporting the jobs of five million people in Europe today. Competitive regulation supporting both the environment as well as employment is a key to Europe’s success”, says Vavassori.

 

“It is crucial too that the boundary conditions for the regulation will be improved in the weeks to come”, says Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General. “Today, MEPs not only voted for a stricter regime for ‘eco-innovations’, technology solutions which reduce emissions without being recognised by the test cycle. They also supported a ‘malus’, a penalty for vehicle manufacturers which fail to achieve a benchmark of mostly battery electric vehicles as a proportion of their overall sales. This amounts to a de facto prescription of technology. It is disappointing that proposals for a better recognition in the benchmark of hybrid technology have been rejected.”

 

The Parliament also calls on the Commission to develop a methodology for the life-cycle analysis of embedded emissions in fuel and energy production as well as in the manufacture of vehicles and parts. “This is important to level the playing field for combustion engines, electric vehicles and the many variants in between. Making the step towards well-to-wheel or life-cycle analysis is a welcome approach for future legislation”, says De Vries.

 

Members of the European Parliament approved the report 389 in favour, 239 against and 41 abstentions and adopted the mandate for the rapporteur to begin tripartite negotiations with the Council and the Commission.

 

 

Environment committee underestimates progress in decarbonisation of transport

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The environment committee of the European Parliament calls for stricter CO2 targets for passenger cars and vans than proposed by the European Commission and a threshold in addition to incentives for sales of low and zero emission vehicles. These are key outcomes of a vote in the committee last night.

in CLEPA, 11-09-2018

“Automotive suppliers fully support the objective of reducing emissions and are proud to deliver the technology to achieve it. However, the sector calls for realistically ambitious targets to best support the transformation that is unmistakably underway”, says Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General of CLEPA, the association of the automotive supplier’s industry.

Yesterday’s vote stands in contrast to earlier votes in the committees for transport and industry, where majorities of members confirmed targets as proposed by the European Commission. “The position of the environment committee therefore does not reflect the entire spectrum of opinions in the European Parliament. We hope that the members of the Parliament will come to a more balanced position in the plenary session in October”, says De Vries.

“A key requirement is to reduce emissions in the most efficient, technology-open as well as least disruptive way when it comes to jobs and structural change”, she adds. “Electrification is a major part of the solution. Industry assesses that the 30% reduction target proposed by the Commission will trigger a share of electric and electrified vehicles including mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell and battery-electric solutions of at least 60%, and very possibly much higher than that as technologies will increasingly be combined to meet emission targets as well as serve a broad variety of transport needs in a tailored way. Today, this percentage remains in the low single digit range. Major investments are therefore being made and will continue at a fast pace.”

The environment committee voted in favour of compromise amendments proposed by the rapporteur, which call for a reduction of emissions by 20% and 45% respectively by 2025 and 2030 as opposed to 15% and 30% proposed by the Commission. The committee also calls for a “malus”, a penalty for manufacturers which fail to achieve a benchmark of electric vehicles as a proportion of their overall sales. “This is counter the principle of technology neutrality”, says De Vries.

Furthermore, the committee calls on the Commission to develop a methodology for the life-cycle analysis of embedded emissions in fuel and energy production as well as the construction of the vehicle and parts. “Making the step further towards well-to-wheel or life-cycle analysis is important to level the playing field between combustion engines and electric vehicles. Automotive suppliers have long been arguing in favour of a well-to-wheel approach”, says De Vries.

The next step is the vote in the Plenary, likely at the beginning of October. Members of the European Parliament will now have the opportunity to propose amendments to complement the position of the environment committee. Member States’ governments are expected to finalise their position in October as well. Once both institutions have adopted their respective positions, tripartite negotiations will resume with the aim of amending and adopting the legislation.