"Carrots and sticks" cannot be the instruments of a strategic policy for the automotive industry according to a statement today by Dr. Joachim Wuermeling, State Secretary in the German Ministry of Economics and Technology at an event held by the Forum for the Automobile and Society in Brussels. Dr. Wuermeling called for the systematic implementation of the results of the CARS 21 high-ranking working group. The branch shouldn't be sweet-talked by smooth sounding recommendations one day and then choked by drastic requirements the next. What we need is a predictable set of rules that ensures the international competitiveness of the European automotive industry into the 21st century. With a turnover of some 743 billion Euros in 2005 and 2.2 million jobs, the industry is a mainstay of prosperity in the EU.
Regarding further efforts against CO2 passenger-car emissions, State Secretary Dr. Wuermeling voiced his support for an integrated approach. In particular, the use of bio fuels had an important role to play: "The blanket use of bio fuels has the advantage of reducing not only the CO2 emissions of new vehicles but those of all cars on the road." Dr. Wuermeling stated that the European automotive industry must continue to improve vehicle engineering and optimize engines beyond the term of voluntary commitments that will expire at the end of 2008. To do so, ambitious but technically feasible target values needed to be set and met on average by all of the vehicles sold in Europe. However, not all vehicles should be lumped together; a single target value should thus not be set for all car manufacturers. Instead, the reduction potentials available in all vehicle classes should be exploited. Manufacturers should not be allowed to lean back and do nothing because of their range of models.
State Secretary Dr. Wuermeling announced that the implementation of CARS 21 would figure prominently under the German Presidency. The aim of considering the CARS 21 recommendations in the Competitiveness Council was to ensure their expeditious implementation.
