The CARS 21 Report has finally been released and has been welcomed by ACEA with a warning to auto makers and legislators to take notice.
The long-awaited CARS 21 High Level Group Final Report on the "Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union" has been released and was immediately supported by the European car makers' trade association, ACEA, which urged European car makers and legislators to act immediately on the recommendations.
The report sets out the EC's vision for the auto industry in 2020 and gives recommendations that go above and beyond those set out in the Interim Report published in December 2011.
According to European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, who is responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship: "The CARS 21 report provides useful input for the important strategic vision for the automotive industry in 2020 which we will present after the summer. But the automotive industry needs to be in good shape first in order to realise this vision. We therefore need to act now and decisively in order to counter current economic difficulties by mobilising financing for research, carefully evaluating any new regulation and supporting the expansion on third markets”.
The Report covers six key areas, from a wide strategic vision for the European auto industry and improving global competitiveness, to emissions control and deploying new transport solutions. The recommendations themselves range from the general to the specific relating to Europe-wide regulation and business stimulation, to creating a new driving test-cycle and test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and emissions.
While welcoming the Report, ACEA stated that there is an urgent need to implement the regulations. ACEA President, Sergio Marchionne, said: "It is essential that the findings are implemented and real action taken as soon as possible. Unfortunately, CARS21 recommendations have often been ignored in the past and we are seeing worrying signals again.
"CARS21 rightly emphasises that trade relations should deliver reciprocal benefits, that tariffs should be eliminated and non-tariff barriers dismantled. However, the EU always appears ready to compromise on these conditions as experience has shown with South-Korea and other examples", said Marchionne. "Trade policy and industrial policy must be aligned and reliable."