Green Deal ‘won’t happen without holistic automotive strategy’

Brussels – Chief executives* of European vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers met 10 April with the EU commissioner for climate action, Wopke Hoekstra, for a roundtable discussion on the green transition of the automotive sector.

The top-level ‘Automotive Roundtable’ was preceded by a meeting with Charles Michel, president of the European Council, ahead of next week’s EU Summit on competitiveness, reported the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Hoekstra, said ACEA, committed to holding this roundtable as he stepped into his role as EU climate commissioner late last year – towards identifying practical barriers to implementing the Green Deal, and possible ways to address these.

According to the association, the CEOs’ message was that “the automotive industry is at a critical junction as it transforms to meet the world’s most ambitious CO2 reduction targets for vehicles.

“Manufacturers and suppliers want to maintain production in Europe, keeping jobs and investment in the region, but are facing a ‘perfect storm’ of fierce global competition for critical resources, funding, investments and customers.”

These issues, noted ACEA, are being compounded by rising costs of doing business in Europe, a changing geopolitical landscape, and mounting challenges within the electric vehicle market.

Given these issues, the CEO’s called for measures to strengthen EU industry competitiveness and build a stronger business case for the automotive sector’s green and digital transition.

A holistic industrial strategy will be the key to achieve Europe’s green ambitions, according to Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group and president of ACEA

“EU car manufacturers are strongly committed to decarbonisation, investing over €250 billion in electrification, but we cannot make this transition alone,” said de Meo.

Europe, he added, needs to create “the conditions for competitiveness and market demand for electric vehicles, including charging and hydrogen refilling infrastructure, a sufficient supply of critical raw materials, better access to finance, and market incentives.”

Matthias Zink, CEO automotive technologies at Schaeffler and president of automotive suppliers association CLEPA, said funding is key to the green transition – particularly amid a downturn in EV adoption and diminishing profits within the supply chain.

The Schaeffler leader went on to call for “framework conditions [that] de-risk investments in innovative technologies and the transformation of facilities and our workforce."