“Zero emissions is our visionary goal for a mobile future, zero accidents is the other one”
1. Could you briefly introduce VDA to our audience?
Matthias Wissmann, president of the VDA: The VDA has over 600 member companies with production sites in Germany – ranging from OEM of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and many suppliers, all the way to manufacturers of trailers, bodies and buses. Since the different manufacturer groups are not organized in separate associations as they are in many other countries, we can enter into direct dialog as an association and reach decisions faster. This is a crucial advantage for Germany as an automotive location. Furthermore, the VDA organizes the world’s most important trade show for mobility, the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA).
2. How would you evaluate the performance of automotive market 2017 in the world?
Wissmann: The automotive industry is a key sector – in the industrialized countries as well in emerging countries. For instance, China is demonstrating that economic growth is always closely linked with growth on the automotive market.
In 2017 Germany will maintain its result from 2016 – that was a strong automotive year. The German passenger car market expanded by 5 percent to nearly 3.4 million new registrations. That was the highest level since the beginning of the decade. For the European market, too, we can draw a positive conclusion. Almost all the markets in European countries have expanded so far this year. In Western Europe we expect stable development in 2017 with a volume close to 13.9 million units.
3. Also we would like to discover the new trends in automotive industry covering market details,
innovation and Research & Developments. Could you share your opinions on this issue?
Wissmann: The German automotive industry is by far the largest investor in research and development of this country’s technology. This is where the know-how is created on which our international competitiveness is based.
Additional to this effort, the entire automotive industry is undergoing a “digital transformation process” involving investments running into the billions. This means investment not only in the mobility of the future – connected and automated driving – but also in intelligent production systems. Increasingly, new partnerships with global companies in the IT community and start-ups are needed for ongoing implementation in digital business processes. Examples of that would be the partnership between BMW, Mobil Eye and Intel, and Daimler’s participation in mobility service providers like Blacklane, Uber and MyTaxi. Volkswagen has founded MOIA, a new group subsidiary, with very ambitious objectives.
It is clear that German automotive companies are in demand as cooperation partners. This is partly because particularly in the premium segment, the German automotive industry takes more than 70 percent of the global market and has the most valuable brands in the automotive world.
Anyone who wants to enter into a partnership with us must be aware that this is possible only as a partnership among equals. We want to remain in the “driver’s seat” in the future, too.
5. What kind of developments do you expect in the automotive technologies in the next 10 years?
What do you think will be the future technologies and which ones will stand out?
Wissmann: The German automotive industry has the clear target of greater road safety. Digitization makes a huge contribution to this, since 90 percent of accidents are caused by human error; only a small proportion is associated with technical failure. Digitization supports, assists and warns the driver of hazards. It is a megatrend at OEMs and suppliers – and is therefore an important driver of innovation. In this context it is essential to safeguard the future of the many jobs in the auto industry. Qualifications and training are necessary here. Digitization is important in the commercial vehicle business, too. Empty journeys can be avoided while truck utilization increases, and road safety can be improved (blind spot, turn-off assistant, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning – all the way to platooning).
6. Could you tell us what you think about e-mobility? How do you think it will affect the sector?
Wissmann: Electric mobility is the major focus of corporate R&D investments. The German automotive industry alone will spend around 40 billion euros on electric mobility by 2020. During the same period, the German car manufacturers will more than treble their portfolio of e-cars – from today’s 30 models to nearly 100. There has also been great progress in fuel cells, which represent another component in the mobility of tomorrow.
But it is also plain that without a functional infrastructure, electric mobility will not achieve the breakthrough onto the mass market. In Germany and Europe, we have to continue the work in this area with determination.
7. Could you evaluate zero emission oriented action plans and strategies of the manufacturers of
the sector in general?
Wissmann: Zero emissions is our visionary goal for a mobile future. Zero accidents is the other one. The path to achieving these goals leads via digitization. Making full use of its opportunities and potentials will require new forms of cooperation spanning several sectors.
8. When we take rising competitive environment and new trends into consideration, which actions do you think we need in the sector globally?
Wissmann: In the future, electric cars will be able to make a major contribution to reducing CO2. We assume that electric cars – either as all-electric battery vehicles or as plug-in hybrids – will enjoy strong growth in the coming years. However, in global terms, vehicles with combustion engines will account for a considerable proportion of the market for new cars. For this reason, future CO2 requirements should be kept technology neutral. A balance must be maintained between the objectives of environmental policy and economic policy. The aim is not only climate protection, but always also growth and employment.
9. What do you think about Turkish automotive industry? What is the importance and role of Turkish automotive industry in the world?
Wissmann: The Turkish automotive industry has expanded rapidly over the past couple of years as it has become more integrated into the European automotive. Turkey is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of buses and also among the top manufacturers of passenger cars and trucks. Motor vehicles imported by the EU in 2016, came mostly from Turkey - 20 percent of all EU imports of motor vehicles. Turkey's solid industrial base and its efforts to converge with EU standards have made it an attractive place to invest for automobile manufacturers.