CARS 21: More needs to be done to safeguard mobility

Publication date: 29 October 2008

“Major challenges remain for the automotive sector and the future of mobility. If Europe is to maintain its global competitiveness, dramatic yet affordable improvements in safety and environmental performance are needed” said Wil Botman, Director General of the FIA European Bureau in his assessment of the Cars 21 High Level group review.

The FIA, the representative of mobile consumers, participated in the CARS21 Mid-Term Review High Level Conference, organised by European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen. The objective of the conference was to review the high level agreement reached in 2005 on the competitiveness of Europe’s car industry. The future of mobility was a key topic for all participating automotive stakeholders.

A number of actions undertaken by the European Commission since 2005 were praised, including the move towards global harmonised regulations, proposals to introduce a number of safety features, such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Daytime Running Lights (DRL), and the proposal of ambitious CO2 targets for 2012.

More needs to be done on safety and environmental performance. Progress could be achieved by focusing on aspects related to driver behaviour and road infrastructure safety management, through the improvement of road infrastructure to tackle accident black spots, increased support for eco driving techniques, more driver education and the availability of harmonised consumer information on car emissions.

The test cycle to be used by manufacturers to measure CO2 output urgently needs updating and revision. The FIA Make Cars Green campaign encourages a number of complimentary measures to reduce CO2 emissions. The efficiency of these techniques was demonstrated in the FIA EcoTour where 42 cars drove 3000 km through Europe demonstrating actual fuel consumption rates while applying eco-driving.

On two dossiers of high importance to consumers no agreement was reached in the high level conference:

1. The Block Exemption Regulation, which rules the competition in the vehicle trade sector, and is now under revision by the Commission. Different views were expressed by the stakeholders;
2. The Design Directive and its Repairs Clause, which is intended to liberalise the production of automotive spare parts to independent producers, and is now in the Council. No action was taken because of conflicting interests between car producing and non car producing countries.

Note to the editors

The CARS 21 process seeks to map out a policy and regulatory framework that enhances Europe’s global competitiveness and employment while sustaining further progress on safety and environmental performance at an affordable price to the consumer.

The CARS 21 High Level Group consists of CEO’s of car manufacturers, ministers of car producing countries, and representatives of the fuel industry, the repair and trade sector, parts suppliers, environmental organizations and FIA as user federation. The aim of the group has been to make recommendations to improve the competitiveness of the European Car industry.

The High Level Group produced recommendations in December 2005, which led to a communication of the European Commission in February 2007, stating their actions in the coming years.

The Mid-term Review in 2008 has reviewed the actions already taken and assessed the need for future actions.

The full report is available on the Commission’s website entitled CARS21 Mid-Term Review High Level Conference.

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the world’s leading motoring and touring organisation, represents via its affiliated members, national motoring and touring organisations over 100 million motorists worldwide and 34 million motorists in the European Union. Europe’s motoring and touring organisations have as their highest priority to make mobility more sustainable, i.e. more reliable, cleaner and safer while keeping it affordable for all.

The High Level Conference took place under the chairmanship of Günter Verheugen, Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for Industry with the following invitees:

Member States
Michael Glos	Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Germany
Hilary Benn	Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom
Christine Lagarde	Minster for Economy, Industry and Employment, France
Aleksandr Vondra	Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Czech Republic
Altero Matteoli	Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Italy
Miguel Sebastian Gascon	Minister for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Spain
European Parliament
Malcolm Harbour	Member of the European Parliament (EPP/UK)
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis	Member of the European Parliament (ALDE/DE)
Industry
Giuliano Zucco	President of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers
Carl-Peter Forster	President of General Motors, Europe
Panos Cavoulacos	President of the European Petroleum IndustryAssociation
Christian Streiff	Président du Directoire, PSA Peugeot Citroën President of the European Automobile Manufacturers
Leif Johansson	President and Chief Executive Officer, Volvo
Sergio Marchionne	Chief Executive Officer Fiat S.p.A.
Dieter Zetsche	Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler
Trade Unions, NGOs, Users, Repairers & Distributors
David Baldock	Director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy
Peter Scherrer	Secretary General of the European Metalworker’s Federation
Max Mosley	President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile
Jürgen Creutzig	President of the European Council for Motor Trades and Repair

For more information please contact:

Wil Botman,

Director General FIA European Bureau

Tel. +32 2 282 08 16