autoregion international - Ausgabe 1/2021

10 LUXEMBOURG AUTOMOBILITY CLUSTER Seizing new opportunities By Luxinnovation After a challenging year 2020, the automotive industry is looking to reposition itself. The Luxembourg AutoMobility Cluster helps companies capitalise on new opportunities, in particular in the field of the circular economy. The automotive sector is one of the main vic- tims of the crisis induced by the COVID-19 pan- demic. “Since the beginning of the crisis, the industry has experienced a drop in turnover of the order of 30% at the European level,” says Anthony Auert, manager of the Luxembourg AutoMobility Cluster at Luxinnovation. “In addition, many companies in the sector have announced redundancies. We can clearly ex- pect this crisis to accelerate mergers and the disappearance of companies that are poorly equipped to face difficulties.” At the same time, some countries are devel- oping bonus systems in order to stimulate the renewal of car fleets. The result is an acceler- ation of the sales of electrified vehicles, largely supported by subsidy systems. In Luxembourg, the sector has also been im- pacted. However, this has not diminished the cluster’s activity, quite the contrary. “Our first priority was to understand the needs of com- panies in the sector during this period of crisis, and to help them find and implement quick solutions. It was also necessary to promote and support the implementation of the new aid measures put in place by the government.” Luxinnovation, the catalyst The last few months have also been an op- portunity to measure how well the players on the ground were able to adapt to the new situation. “Together with some automotive companies like CEBI or Accumalux, we have in- vestigated the possibility of manufacturing of the necessary to fight against COVID-19 locally, in particular personal protective equipment,” says Mr Auert. Tomorrow does not necessarily look rosy, but Mr Auert remains confident. “We know that each crisis gives rise to new opportunities for those who know how to seize them. In this con- text, Luxinnovation will have an important role to play as a catalyst to accelerate the recovery.” This is why the cluster is actively working on the implementation of new cross-disciplinary collaborative projects, enabling the automotive sector to diversify its fields of activity andmake it more resilient and less dependent on external parameters. “For example, we are looking to further develop the application of proven auto- S H A R E Image: © G-Stock Studio/shutterstock.com