International agreed rules to speed up introduction of electric vehicles

Brussels 17 November 2011 – The introduction of electrical cars will get a further boost with an international agreement promoted by the European Union, the United States and Japan in Geneva (Switzerland) today.

European Investment Bank to provide EUR 220m to Nissan for production of the 100% electric Nissan LEAF and advanced lithium-ion batteries in Sunderland

The European Investment Bank has agreed to support production of Nissan’s first electric car to be built in Europe and the company’s first European production of electric vehicle batteries.

A step forward to the standardisation of electric vehicles

The European vehicle manufacturers established a list of recommendations to standardise the charging of electrically-chargeable vehicles. This initiative will contribute to speed up the penetration of electric vehicles into the automotive market.

eCall

Antitrust: Car price report shows price differentials for new cars in EU narrowing in 2010

Brussels, 26 July 2011 - The European Commission’s latest car price report shows that car prices fell by 2.5% in real terms in 2010 in the European Union as a whole. List prices for new cars also converged slightly. These long-term price trends support the Commission's decision last year that specific competition rules for the sale of new cars are no longer justified.

Road transport: new tachograph rules will save companies more than €500 million per year

The European Commission has proposed to revise the tachograph legislation to make full use of new technological opportunities such as satellite positioning.

Code de bonne conduite: l'étau se resserre sur les constructeurs

Article published by autoactu - Emilie Binois
La semaine dernière, la Commission européenne a provoqué une réunion entre les constructeurs et les distributeurs pour relancer les négociations sur le code de bonne conduite visant à encadrer leurs relations commerciales.  Les constructeurs ont été vivement invité à faire un pas dans les négociations.

EUROPEAN CAR DEALERS CONFERENCE

The European Car Dealers, a division of CECRA organises a dealer conference on the 10th of May 2011 in Verona - Italy. The event is organised in connection with the "Automotive Dealer Day" which will take place on the 11th and 12th of May.
If you wish to receive more information about this event, please let us know mail@cecra.eu

White paper on Transport: towards application of principle "those who pollute and use" will have to pay

The European Commission wishes to harmonise the automobile tax system

Commission seeks opinions on the future for collective actions in Europe

Vice-President Siim Kallas presents road safety awards

Eurostat - Euroindicators - November 2010 compared with October 2010

In November 2010, compared with the previous month, prices in total industry excluding the energy sector increased by 0.1% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27. Prices in the energy sector rose by 0.9% and 1.3% respectively. Both intermediate goods and non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27. Durable consumer goods gained 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Capital goods fell by 0.1% in both zones.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest increases in the total index were recorded in Ireland and Greece (both +1.3%), Bulgaria, Hungary and the United Kingdom (all +1.1%). The only decrease was observed in Cyprus (-0.7%), while prices remained stable in Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Good progress in cutting red tape: lending a hand to businesses

The Commission's efforts to cut unnecessary administrative burdens are progressing well, making the lives of businesses easier, in particular small and medium sized enterprises, and strengthening European competitiveness The Commission has already tabled proposals with a reduction potential well above the target of 25 % and is preparing new proposals bringing the total reduction potential to almost 33 % or EUR 40.7 bn.. That is the key message of the update about the implementation of the Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the EU, published today on the eve of the Competitiveness Council. Commission President José Manuel Barroso discussed this progress today with the Chairman of the High-Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens, Dr. Edmund Stoiber. The Group advises and assists the Commission on administrative burden reduction and will produce a report on best practice in Member States by end of 2011.

Taxation: Commission launches debate on the future of Value Added Tax (VAT)

The European Commission today launched a wide public consultation on how the EU’s Value Added Tax (VAT) system can be strengthened and improved, to the benefit of citizens, businesses and Member States. The aim is to give all stakeholders a chance to express their thoughts and views on the problems that currently exist with regard to VAT, and how these can be addressed. The Commission will use the feedback from this consultation to decide the best approach in creating a more stable, robust and effective VAT system for the future.

Market support for clean and energy-efficient vehicles

Clean and energy-efficient vehicles are essential if the European Union is to achieve its 2020 targets for improving energy efficiency, increasing the market share of renewable energy sources, and reducing CO2 emissions. The directive on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles ( ), which applies to all procurements of vehicles for public transport services from this month, will broaden the market. This directive requires public authorities, when buying a vehicle, to take account of its energy consumption, CO2 emissions and pollutant emissions over the vehicle's lifetime.

Commercial Vehicles: 6.6% increase in new registrations from January to October

In October, new commercial vehicle registrations rose by 12%, continuing an upward trend commenced in March. The increase occurred in all segments, except for buses and coaches. Ten months into the year, the EU* market of commercial vehicles expanded by 6.6%, mainly lifted by demand for vans. New registrations from January to October totaled 1,453,202 units. More info on the ACEA's website.
Source: ACEA

BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz will shorten Christmas breaks at their factories

BMW's plants in Dingolfing and Leipzig will stay open during the Christmas holidays. Dingolfing makes the new-generation 5-series and Leipzig produces the strong-selling X1. Mercedes's Hamburg factory, which supplies parts to vehicles including the Mercedes E- and S-class, will also remain in operation. Luxury-vehicle demand is bouncing back from the financial crisis on a rebound in the United States and growth in China. BMW increased sales worldwide by 13 percent to 1.19 million vehicles through October, while deliveries of Mercedes and the Smart rose 12 percent to 1.04 million.

Kroes renews push for connected cars

EU's commissioner for digital affairs Neelie Kroes urged car manufacturers to use information technology to improve road safety and solve Europe's congested road problems.  

Free movement of goods: Belgium referred to Court over car registration procedure

The European Commission has decided to take Belgium to the EU Court of Justice over its rules relating to the registration of used cars imported from another Member State, notably the requirement to present a certificate of conformity for an imported vehicle and failure to recognise the validity of roadworthiness tests undertaken in other Member States.

Public consultation on European class-action lawsuit in November

The public consultation will be launched in November and will end in February 2011. Analysis of the contributions will be finished by the summer. The Commission will be able to present a communication on an integrated approach of a class action.

Passenger cars: registrations 4.3% lower over 3 quarters

September registrations of new cars decreased by 9.6% compared to the same month of last year, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline in demand for new cars this year. In absolute numbers, registrations amounted to 1,227,645 units. Over the three first quarters of 2010, registrations were 4.3% lower compared to the same period of 2009, totaling 10,251,140 vehicles. Source ACEA - detailed report available on ACEA's website.

Better road safety: European Road Safety Days 2010

For the third time, European Road Safety Days were held on 13 and 14 October 2010 in Brussels. On this occasion the European Commission organised, in cooperation with the Belgian Presidency, a conference which examined a) those injured in road accidents, b) the challenges facing different categories of road users, and c) the infrastructure. The conference  attributed particular importance to the cross border fight against the offences which cause most deaths and presented the strategic guidelines on European road safety policy for the period 2011 20.
'The European Road Safety Days are a perfect opportunity to take stock. While tens of thousands die on our roads each year, incomparably more are injured. We must also be aware of vulnerable categories of road users – such as motorcyclists, whose increasing death rate on our roads remains worrying. Progress must necessarily also include improving the road infrastructure, which must become a systematic concern of network managers', stressed Vice President Kallas, who has made road safety one of his priorities for action.

Review of the Directive on charging Heavy Goods Vehicles – "Eurovignette Directive"

The "Eurovignette" Directive on charging heavy goods vehicles for the use of infrastructure was originally adopted in 1999. It provides a framework for the levying of road charges on heavy goods vehicles for using the roads that are part of the trans-European network. The Directive authorises, but does not oblige, Member States to levy ‘user charges’ or tolls on lorries above 3.5 tonnes. The original aim of the Directive was to preserve the smooth functioning of the internal market. 11 Member States are currently applying tolls and 10 apply user charges, out of which 2 are considering to replace their user charges by tolls.

Motorcycle safety and emission performance: EC proposes substantial improvements

The EC has proposed the mandatory fitting of advanced braking systems on new motorcycles and automatic headlamp-on switching for all L-category vehicles.
The proposal sets also ambitious emission requirements for these vehicles. In addition by introducing enhanced market surveillance requirements, a level playing field will be created for all L-category vehicle manufacturers in a sector where presence of non-compliant products may cause significant safety risks and environmental threats.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said: "Today’s proposal is an example how we can make EU legislation lighter while increasing the functional safety and the environmental performance of L-category vehicles. Less legislation means less costs and administrative burden for the industry. At the same time we will considerably increase the safety of these vehicles and reduce their harmful emissions. We will moreover be able to tackle illegal products entering the  EU internal market. What we have proposed today will benefit both industry and users of such vehicles”.
1. Increased safety
In 2008, 5 520 motorcycle riders died in road accidents. In fact the amount of fatalities remained more or less constant whereas the fatality numbers for other means of transport gradually came down. The proposed Regulation should lead to a number of new functional safety requirements, namely mandatory anti-lock braking systems fitted to medium and high performance motorcycles.  In addition all L-category vehicles shall be equipped with an automatic headlamp-on feature in order to increase rider and vehicle conspicuity and make them more visible to other traffic participants.
2. Emission reduction
Certain toxic emissions from road transport are decreasing, but the share of the L-category vehicle fleet contributing to these emissions is significantly increasing. Three emission steps are proposed for the coming decade. The Commission proposes among others a Euro 3, a Euro 4 and a Euro 5 step (and  Euro 6 limits for motorcycles) to be complied with in 2014, 2017 and 2020, respectively. 
3. Increased market surveillance
By introducing enhanced market surveillance requirements, the placing of illegal products on the market will be tackled more rigorously while ensuring fair competition among L-category vehicle manufacturers, in a sector where presence of non-compliant products may cause significant safety risks and environmental harm.
4. Legislative simplification
The proposal will also radically simplify the current legislative set of 15 Directives by replacing them with just 5 Regulations.
5. Adaptation to new technologies
The current legislative framework will be extended to plug-in hybrids or full electric vehicles, whereas these propulsion types are already mass-produced since a number of years in the L-category vehicle sector.
This whole package of 5 Regulations now goes to Council and the European parliament, and is anticipated to become first applicable as of 1 January 2013.
The proposal can be consulted here.

PSA will present their world's first diesel-electric car at the Paris motor show

ZDK - 2nd Franchised Dealer Congress

Date of the Conference: 21 & 22 October 2010
Register now via
http://www.fabrikatshaendlerkongress.de/index-2.html
Venue: Frankfurt Exhibition and Conference Centre - Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1 - 60327 Frankfurt am Main - Germany
Hosted by the German Federation for Motor Trades and Repairs (ZDK)
Session 1 - New business models for autoretailing
Session 2 - Chinese car makers on their way to Germany
Session 3 - Electric motoring - Tomorrow's distribution and mobility concepts