ACEA

Leif Östling elected Chairman of the ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board for 2009

Brussels, 19/01/2009 - The Commercial Vehicle Board of Directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has elected Leif Östling as its new chairman for 2009. Östling is CEO of Scania AB. At ACEA, he replaces Andreas Renschler, Daimler AG board member responsible for the Daimler Trucks Division, who was ACEA commercial vehicle chairman in 2008.

‘I look forward to continuing the dialogue with the EU institutions in the year ahead on behalf of the European truck, van and bus manufacturing industry and thank Mr Renschler for his valuable work in 2008’, said Östling. ‘The current financial and economic crises affect our sector deeply. Our companies have and will continue to act responsibly to ensure we emerge from the crisis even stronger. In addition, support by EU governments and institutions is essential to ensure that the recession will be as short and contained as possible.’

‘We have been able to make significant progress last year in raising awareness to our sector’s leadership in reducing pollutant emissions and increasing fuel efficiency’, added Renschler. ‘ACEA will continue on this path under the chairmanship of Mr Östling and I wish him every success. Our industry confirms its commitment to be a main contributor to achieving sustainable mobility around the world.’

Mr Östling has a Master in Engineering and in Economics. He commenced his employment at Scania in 1972. Over the years he has held numerous positions within the company and was appointed Head of Scania in 1989, at that time a division within Saab-Scania. As from 1994, when Scania AB became an independent corporation, Leif Östling is President and CEO.

Transport enables growth

Road transport is key to the global economy. In the industrialised countries, trucks carry nearly 80 percent of all freight. Statistically, every single day, trucks deliver 70 kilogrammes of goods to each European citizen. The European commercial vehicle manufacturers produced 2.6 million commercial vehicles in 2007, generating a turnover of nearly € 70 billion. The haulage industry is a € 250 billion-a-year sector. In all, more than 3.5 million people are employed in commercial road transport, of whom around 1 million in vehicle manufacturing, sales and after-sales. The current crisis affects the sector’s output and employment levels throughout the whole chain, with a wider impact on economic growth.

Modern trucks, vans and buses set the standard in terms of safety, efficiency and environment. Pollutant emissions such as nitrogen oxide and particulate matter have been reduced by as much as 85% and 95% respectively since the late 1980s. The commercial vehicle industry has cut the fuel consumption of its products by more than a third since the 1970s. Progress will continue with 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.

The ACEA commercial vehicle members are Daimler AG, DAF Trucks, Iveco SpA, MAN AG, Scania AB, Volkswagen AG and AB Volvo. 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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