The general director of Mercedes becomes the boss of ACEA, the association of European automobile manufacturers. Here is his first open letter to European authorities, asking them to show clemency.
Luca de Meo is no longer the president of ACEA, the association of European automobile manufacturers. This post rotates every two years and it is now Ola Källenius who is responsible for representing the sector to European authorities and the public. An information and communication mission which will take on its full meaning this year with numerous obstacles for manufacturers: tougher CO2 standards, a drop in sales to be stemmed and an ecological transition of the industry. And a European Union to convince. The general director of Mercedes, who is taking charge of ACEA, began his adventure with a traditional open letter in which he asks the EU to relax the fines that could fall this year for automobile groups who will exceed the objectives assigned to them.
An achievable goal
“First, we need a realistic path to decarbonization of the auto industry – one that is driven by the market, not penalties”announces Ola Källenius, who recalls that the automobile industry represents 7% of Europe’s GDP and employs hundreds of thousands of people, taking into account equipment manufacturers and all the companies that revolve around this market and depend on it.
“The European automotive industry already offers a wide range of attractive electric vehicles. Between January and November last year, around two million of them were sold. However, the transformation in Europe is not progressing at the required pace. This pace is determined by customers and market conditions For zero-emission mobility to thrive, the ecosystem as a whole must become more attractive to customers. tax and non-financial incentives would certainly contribute to moving towards an autonomous market.”
The Mercedes boss points out that the fines that manufacturers will pay will be money lost for the development of new, cleaner vehicles. On the other hand, Ola Kallenius remains in his positions: for him, trade and tax sanctions against China and its cars are counterproductive.
-“To a certain extent, it is understandable that the EU must protect its internal market and its economy against actors who do not respect WTO rules. But experience also shows that potential trade wars do not victorious. Protectionist measures are not necessarily the best solution.”
Obviously, Mercedes has interests to protect since its sales in China are far from anecdotal and a Chinese response could cost the Germans dearly, who have already lost big in 2024 on the Chinese market.
Automotive journalist (and a bit of a bicycle journalist too). As passionate about new things as industry or the environment, but also everything that will advance mobility.
Published on 01/19/2025 at 2:30 p.m.
