Important Decision for European Automotive industry
How to maintain competitiveness and enable further progress is a question to which all manufacturers in the European automotive industry are dedicating more attention than ever before in their history. A pivotal moment calls for clear and concrete decisions in the shortest possible time.
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) is aware that the high tariffs introduced by the EU as a protective measure against unfair competition are only a short-term solution and unsustainable in the long run.
Therefore, ACEA welcomed the European Commission’s announcement of an Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector aimed at strengthening its competitiveness.
This plan includes the establishment of the European Alliance for Connected and Automated Vehicles and a Joint Undertaking for the Automotive Industry, building upon existing partnerships in the road transport sector.
“We support these initiatives as strategic instruments for enhancing competitiveness, technological sovereignty, and sustainability of the European automotive sector, fully aligned with the Competitiveness Compass strategy,” ACEA stated.
What does this mean in practice?
The European Commission has announced the establishment of the Alliance for the 2025–2027 period to lead policy, funding, and financing measures for connected and automated vehicles, with a focus on harmonization and further development of implementation recommendations.
As the largest investors in research and innovation, automakers and automotive parts suppliers see 2025 as the year for bold actions to improve global competitiveness and close the innovation gap.
“We must accelerate innovation from research to production, set priorities, and facilitate large-scale innovative initiatives with significant industrial participation and leadership,” ACEA leaders emphasized.
“That’s why we plan to establish the largest public-private partnership for research and innovation in the automotive industry, enhancing the EU’s competitiveness. This proposed joint undertaking will pool and align resources from industry and public funding across Europe for R&I activities in the automotive sector and along the entire value chain.”The main objectives:
Accelerate automotive innovation: reduce time-to-market by 40%
Enhance R&D capacity: strengthen research and innovation capabilities across Europe’s competitive automotive value chains
Boost digital innovation: promote digital technology innovations to improve competitiveness through AI, software-defined vehicles (SDV), in-vehicle computing, connectivity, automation, and data-based solutions
Integrate sustainability: incorporate sustainability, affordability, and environmental performance throughout the value chain, addressing carbon neutrality, life cycle assessment (LCA), circular economy, and resilience
This is undoubtedly a historic turning point for the European automotive industry. Everyone is aware that much depends on the efficiency of the plan’s implementation.
What is the "Competitiveness Compass"?
The EU’s Competitiveness Compass Strategy, published by the European Commission on January 29 of this year, aims to make Europe a leader in innovation, decarbonization, and security, while improving its economic competitiveness.
It focuses on reducing the innovation gap, integrating decarbonization, and reducing dependency on critical areas such as raw materials and key technologies.
Main goals:
Innovation:
The Compass aims to close the innovation gap with leading global competitors, focusing on areas like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and clean technologies.
Decarbonization:
It seeks to integrate decarbonization into economic policies, supporting industries in transitioning to sustainable operations and ensuring access to affordable clean energy.
Security:
The Compass emphasizes the importance of security considerations in EU economic policy, especially in areas like digital infrastructure, supply chains, and key technologies.Key factors and actions:
The strategy includes five factors to strengthen competitiveness across all sectors: simplification, removing single market barriers, financing, skills and quality jobs, and better coordination.
Concrete initiatives:
The Compass outlines a series of actions, including streamlined legislation, pooling of private and public investment, and reducing external dependencies in critical areas.
Policy alignment:
The need for harmonized policies at both the EU and national levels is emphasized to ensure the strategy's goals are achieved.
In summary, the Competitiveness Compass is a comprehensive strategy designed to boost Europe’s competitiveness by promoting innovation, embracing sustainability, and reinforcing economic security.
Source: ACEA, European Commission
Photo: Freepik
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