autoregion international - Edition 1/2020

3 Transformation of a global key branch: challenges for the automotive industry By VDA managing director Dr. Joachim Damasky The automotive industry is undergoing a transformation process that presents companies and employees withmany challenges at the same time like never before: First, the decline in the global automotive economy - with an impact on capacities, production, exports and employment. Secondly, the major trade policy uncertainties. The Brexit is added. Third, electromobility and digitization. We are dealing with a fundamental struc- tural change that requires high invest- ments while the market dynamics are weakening at the same time. The tension can be felt in many companies. Manufac- turers and suppliers adjust capacities, in- crease efficiency, clean up their product portfolio and improve their cost structures. In some companies, this also includes em- ployment in the medium term. The EU Commission has just announced that, as part of the “Green Deal”, it plans to review the rules on CO 2 fleet limit values for cars and light commercial vehicles from June 2021. Therefore, there is a danger that the already very strict worldwide fleet lim- its could be tightened again. The current limit values were adopted only a year ago; the companies will only be able to achieve themwith great effort. After last year’s decision, politicians in Brussels and Berlin must be aware that these plans are very critical for the auto- motive industry because, companies are aiming the very ambitious target of minus 37.5 percent for cars by 2030. The German automotive industry supports the ambitious Paris climate targets and the EU Commission’s plan to make Europe cli- mate neutral by 2050. Climate protection is a priority, but at the same time it must be economically, ecologically and socially compatible. We do not always achieve the associated goals through new guide- lines and intermediate goals. Our compa- nies need planning reliability to be able to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Manufacturers and suppliers are investing heavily in alternative drives. The new mod- els emit less and less CO 2 or are CO 2 neutral. In addition, we strive for CO 2 neutrality in the entire value creation process - from development and production of the auto- mobile to sales and the use and recycling of the vehicle. It is now a matter of driving the rapid market penetration of electric vehicles. By 2023, our manufacturers will have quintupled their range of models to over 150 electricmodels. Every third patent in the field of electric mobility and hybrid drive worldwide already comes from Ger- many. Even if the focus is on electromobility, we continue to work on alternative drives and fuels, because in the long term there will be a technology mix for the drive types. Our companies actively promote research and development in the segments of cli- mate-neutral e-fuels, CNG and hydrogen. But for these technologies to reach the market, the right political course must now be set. It is not just a matter of a type of drive, whichwe are pushing forwardwith all our might. It is about a politically and so- cially driven system change. The German automotive industry is making a strong contribution to this. However, all actors should be aware that CO 2 reduction is a task for society as a whole and cannot be reduced to just one industry. Only a cross-structure approach is efficient and the demanding goals can only be achieved with the right framework, appropriate incentives and infrastructure investments. The German automotive in- dustry is aggressively facing these chal- lenges. We thereby balance people’s desire for individual mobility and climate protec- tion. Progress is driven by incentives – rigid prohibitions slow it down. Image: © VDA Transformation einer Schlüsselbranche: Heraus- forderungen für die Auto- mobilindustrie Die Automobilbranche befindet sich in einem Transformationsprozess, der Unternehmen und Beschäftigte wie nie zuvor vor viele Herausforderungen gleichzeitig stellt: Erstens der Rückgang der weltweiten Automobilkonjunktur – mit Auswirkungen auf Kapazitäten, Produktion, Export und Beschäftigung. Zweitens die großen handelspolitischen Unsicherheiten. Der Brexit kommt hinzu. Drittens die Elektromobilität und Digita- lisierung … Weiterlesen … https://t1p.de/hr0g Summary VDA managing director Dr. Joachim Damasky S H A R E