Commissioner Bieńkowska pushes for modernisation of automobile industry

Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, today is hosting a meeting with representatives of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) to discuss the future of the European automotive industry. Opening the meeting, Commissioner Bieńkowska stressed: “Road transport emissions need to come down to tackle climate change and air quality problems. Europe needs to move ahead on connected and automated driving. And we need to make sure that consumers and regulators can have confidence in the system for car testing and approval again. There is simply no alternative to moving ahead on all three.” Speaking at a reception of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) on Wednesday 29 June, the Commissioner called on the car industry to develop new green technologies faster and move from low emissions vehicles to zero emission vehicles (her speech “Shifting gears early to be ready for the future” is available online). Earlier this morning, Commissioner Bieńkowska met with the CEO of Volkswagen, Mr Matthias Mueller, to discuss the measures taken by Volkswagen to fix the cars affected by defeat devices. The Commissioner reiterated her call for adequate and fair customer compensation in Europe in order to restore consumer trust.