Belgium – With the run-up to the EU elections next year, COP 28 and the impending Euro VII legislation seemingly being ironed out, it has been a busy time for the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which has re-elected Luca de Meo, CEO of Groupe Renault, to serve as ACEA President in 2024. The president, who is serving in his second one-year term, has been in close consultation with EU policymakers over the impending Euro VII legislation, of which the organisation has been highly critical, namely for moving resources from battery-electric vehicle technology back to internal combustion engines and consequently potentially slowing down the transition to climate neutrality. This came in the form of an open letter to Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, calling on the Commission to align Euro VII policy and the CO2 emission targets so that the industry can streamline developments into one strategic pathway, rather than multiple development pathways.

Luca de Meo recently unveiled a roadmap for developing a competitive European green mobility ecosystem, co-signed by the heads of Europe’s largest commercial vehicle OEMs. The roadmap, submitted to the EU Parliament and Commission, is premised on three pillars of supply, production and demand, encompassing views of all relevant industry stakeholders. This involves multiple players as decarbonisation cuts across a multitude of sectors including automotive, mining, energy and infrastructure.