ACEA

Leif Johansson elected Chairman of the ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board for 2010

Brussels, 12/01/2010 - The Commercial Vehicle Board of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has elected Leif Johansson as its new chairman for 2010. Johansson is President and CEO of Volvo Group. At ACEA, he takes over from Leif Östling, CEO of Scania AB, who was ACEA commercial vehicle chairman in 2009.

“I look forward to further deepen our dialogue with the European Institutions on behalf of the European truck, van and bus manufacturing industry and I thank Mr Östling for his valuable work in 2009”, said Johansson. “The commercial vehicle sector is affected more than many other industries by the economic crisis and we need policy makers to understand and address this situation. A return to economic growth is imperative for our companies to maintain their position as technology leaders throughout the world and sustain our substantial contribution to improving the environmental performance of road transport. We call on policy makers to deploy all possible means to ensure a supportive regulatory and business environment, which encompasses everything from access to capital to strengthening funding for R&D.”

“Our industry has been successful in reducing pollutant emissions and increasing fuel efficiency over the last decades as well as in 2009, and we want to keep that course also during these tough economic times”, added Östling. The ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board will continue making its mark under the chairmanship of Mr Johansson and I wish him every success. Our industry is one of Europe’s engines of innovation and deserves to be recognised as such.”

Leif Johansson holds a degree in engineering and is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Group since 1997. He is also a member of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Before joining Volvo, Johansson was President and Chief Executive Officer of Electrolux.

About the European commercial vehicle industry

Demand for new commercial vehicles has fallen sharply over the past year and a half, with European heavy truck registrations down 48.4% from January to November 2009. The European manufacturers estimate that the market has reached the bottom, but expect only a slow improvement in 2010. They have taken numerous measures to adapt output levels, but pressure on permanent employment levels is mounting. The commercial vehicle industry is an important part of the European automobile industry and currently employs about 1.5 million people directly and indirectly in Europe.

Vehicle manufacturers go to great lengths to sustain investments in R&D, most notably in the fields of road safety and emissions reduction. Just the upcoming Euro VI emission requirements alone would require immediate industry level investments of EUR 6-8 billion. Pollutant emissions such as nitrogen oxide and particulate matter have already been reduced by as much as 85% and 95% respectively since the late 1980s.

Another main priority remains the further improvement of fuel and energy efficiency in order to contribute to global CO2 emission reduction objectives. The commercial vehicle industry has cut the fuel consumption of its products by more than a third since the 1970s. Progress continues through improved combustion engines, hybrid trucks and buses, other innovative drive-trains and the use of alternative fuels. A further 20% increase in fuel efficiency per tonnekilometre is envisaged by 2020 (compared to 2005), and will require the utmost of the manufacturers’ engineers and management.

About ACEA

The ACEA commercial vehicle members are Daimler AG, DAF Trucks, Iveco SpA, MAN AG, Scania AB, Volkswagen AG and AB Volvo. They produce trucks and engines in over ten EU countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic. The ACEA CV Board elects a new chairman every year.

For further information, please contact Sigrid de Vries, Director Communications, ACEA   +32 2 738 73 45 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Please also visit http://www.acea.be

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