European auto manufacturers herald “four guiding principles” for re-birth of car industry

The four key principles for a stronger and greener automobile industry post‐crisis are:

• defining a co-ordinated strategy to safely relaunch vehicle production as soon as possible . Automobile manufacturers want to ensure that life and business can resume as quickly as possible as the current restrictions are gradually lifted, and are ready to make an important contribution to the re‐start of the EU economy.
  As soon as the immediate crisis ceases, it is vital that both vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers can rapidly and simultaneously get their plants up and running across the whole supply chain and in all countries.
  ACEA therefore calls for EU‐wide support for a coordinated re‐start of activities and investments right along the supply chain.
  A level‐playing field must be ensured, as well as flexibility to establish new business arrangements. A top priority is to protect the health of all those who work in the auto sector;

• stimulating market demand for all vehicle categories As Europe looks to reboot its economy, it will be crucial that clean road transport and mobility are affordable for everybody across the continent. Financial support must be provided and maintained through EU and national measures in order to boost private and business demand. There should be a strong focus on increasing the uptake of the latest technologies. Given the fragile economic situation, however, many consumers and professional transport operators will be simply unable to resume their investment plans and purchase new vehicles. Therefore, fleet renewal schemes for all vehicle categories across the EU would be needed to help re‐launch demand for the latest vehicle technologies – which was moving in the right direction before the crisis hit;

• unblocking type approval and registrations of the latest‐technology vehicles . The auto industry is investing massively in producing a full range of zero‐ and low- emission vehicles, as well as Euro 6d/Euro VI vehicles that meet the toughest pollutant emission standards in the world. It is vital that these can be brought to the market.
  The standstill within the industry, technical services and national type approval authorities is understandably disrupting the approval or ‘homologation’ of these new vehicles, meaning they simply cannot be sold. Similarly, if vehicle registration authorities are shuttered and cannot grant registrations, businesses and customers cannot use their new vehicles.
  We therefore urge authorities in the EU member states to accelerate the type approval and vehicle registration process to the maximum extent possible given the constraints currently in place;

• accelerating investment in recharging and re‐fuelling infrastructure. An EU‐wide network of charging and re‐fuelling infrastructure will be key to ensuring that the fleet can be renewed in an environmentally‐friendly way. Moreover, it will provide consumer and customer confidence in alternatively‐powered vehicles. ACEA is fully supportive of the Commission´s pilot initiative on ‘1 million charging and re‐fuelling points across the EU for all vehicle types’, including high‐power charging for heavy‐duty vehicles

Meanwhile UK fleet association predicts major boost to digitisation

The current lockdown is leading to a rapid expansion in the digitisation of fleet services, according to the UK’s Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).

Co-chair Paul Hollick (pictured above) explained that the trend could be seen right across the spectrum of the industry, from service providers to how employers communicated with drivers.

He said: “Much of this trend has been prompted by the sudden and widespread switch to home working that has been caused by lockdown. Processes that were perhaps paper or telephone powered, because people all worked in the same office, are now being digitised.

“At the most basic level, this might be something as simple as how you communicate with drivers who are now scattered across a wide geographical area but, as an extension of that thinking, it could be that you have also adopted an app for completing and auditing walk-around safety checks.

“Similar things are happening with suppliers. For example, speed awareness companies are starting to offer virtual courses, and the call centre you deal with is perhaps now operating 100% remotely because the provider is unable to utilise its off-shore operations while it is under lockdown.

“Some of this is being driven by necessity – lockdown conditions mean that new methods are needed to carry out essential tasks – but there also appears to have been an acceleration in development of some sophisticated solutions being brought to market quickly because now is a moment where the extra efficiencies or benefits they bring might make a real difference.”

Hollick added that he expected lockdown conditions to persist for some time and that it could lead to further useful and interesting innovations in fleet.

“It seems unlikely that lockdown conditions will end for a while and even then, there is certain to be a relatively slow return to something that might be considered normality, so the forces driving this process of digitisation are likely to persist for a long while yet.”