The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) has welcomed the adoption of the Report of the High Level Group on the Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union (GEAR 2030).
The EU’s automotive sector enjoys a central place in Europe’s industrial landscape. It is the employer of millions of Europeans, often in highly skilled jobs and a major investor in research and development. The sector is one of the most competitive in the world and generates a substantial trade surplus for the EU. It is at a junction of many important EU policies including; competitiveness, research, energy, environment, transport, single market, etc.
Today’s automotive industry is at a turning point: it must embrace the upcoming digital revolution, automated and connected driving, environmental challenges (such as climate goals), societal changes and growing globalisation.
In order to develop a co-ordinated and effective EU approach for the automotive industry in this changing landscape, the European Commission established the High Level Group (HLG) GEAR 2030 in October 2015. The group brought together Member States’ authorities and key stakeholders representing the industry, services, consumers and environmental protection and road safety.
The report sets out the HLG’s analysis of the situation and recommendations to address the main challenges and opportunities for the sector in the run-up to 2030 and beyond. It examines the developments in global competitiveness and changes in the value chain. In this context, given the profound impacts of the transformation on the entire value chain, the HLG decided to focus on connected and automated driving (CAD) and on zero emissions and zero emissions-capable vehicles (ZEVs and ZECs). However, the HLG also recognises that cleaner internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles will have an important role in the on-going transformation of the sector. They will be especially important in the case of heavy duty vehicles to help their transition to low and zero emission technologies.
ETRMA was particularly pleased with the emphasis put on three elements: the need for legislation to be predictable, reliable and enforced; the urgency for the EU to reinforce the institutional and industrial dialogues with major trading partners towards market access as well as a fairer trade worldwide; the impact of automation and connectivity in shaping the automotive industry of the future, including the need to access in-vehicle data for the entire automotive value-chain.
All these elements – and others such as the importance of anticipating and developing the right skills for the jobs of the future – are essential to maintaining and fostering the competitiveness of the tyre industry. The connected and automated vehicles strategy is a new area of activity for the High Level Group. The increasing connectivity of vehicles is a game changer for the entire automotive value chain of which tyres are an essential element. As stated in the report, to continue innovating and improving the general vehicle safety, there will be the need for provisions for direct, safe and secure access to a wide set of vehicle data for the provision of connected services, and this will certainly be an area of intensive work going forward.
“The very intensive work of GEAR2030 for the past 18 months confirms the fundamental and structural changes the automotive value chain is undergoing” said Cinaralp, Secretary General of ETRMA.
“This report constitutes a stepping stone for all stakeholders to start working and putting actions next to the recommendations there included. The work is now ahead of us and we are ready for it, she said.