Brussels,  23  February  2010  –  Dieter  Zetsche,  President of ACEA and Chairman  of  the Board of Management of Daimler, has made the case for a new  spirit  of  cooperation  among politics, economy and society to make real progress towards a sustainable Europe.

‘The  imperative  for  a sustainable Europe is an innovative, competitive
industrial  base and it is positive to see this recognised so prominently
in   the  European  Commission’s  Vision  2020.  Competitiveness  is  the
cornerstone  of  sustainability’, said Zetsche in his welcoming speech at
the ACEA annual reception today in Brussels.

“Now is the time to turn a page”, continued Zetsche. “Our industry stands
at  the  threshold  of  a  new era of sustainable mobility. We have a new
European  Commission  and  Parliament  in  place; we have a new consensus
above  party-lines  that a sustainable industry needs a strong Europe and
vice  versa.  And  we  have more common ground with our stakeholders than
ever. I am optimistic that we can make real progress. ”

Smart industrial policy aims to maintain Europe as an attractive area for
innovation  and  manufacturing.  Important elements of such policy are to
promote  research  &  development  as  well as the market introduction of
breakthrough  technologies;  to  reduce  the  cost  of  regulation and to
maintain  a  level  playing  field  in the EU. It also strives to enhance
Europe’s   competitiveness  globally  and  to  further  liberalise  trade
relations in a fair and balanced way.

Outlook                                                              2010

Reflecting  on the difficult economic circumstances in 2009, Zetsche said
that  the  recession  had  underlined  once  more how closely the fate of
Europe  and  its  automotive  industry  are  intertwined, with the sector
representing  35%  of manufacturing employment in the EU. He acknowledged
that  governments  have  played  a  major  role  in  counterbalancing the
negative effects of the market crunch.

“When  we  look  at 2010 there is no doubt that we have reached a turning
point.  Still  we cannot count on a quick recovery”, said Zetsche. As the
various  fleet  renewal  schemes  are phasing out, the industry expects a
significant decrease in passenger car sales this year. Commercial vehicle
registrations will at best be flat, after a 32% drop in 2009.

NB – The full speech made by Dieter Zetsche will be available on ACEA’s
website.

About ACEA
The   European   automotive   industry   is   key  to  the  strength  and
competitiveness  of the European economy. The ACEA members are BMW Group,
DAF  Trucks,  Daimler, FIAT Group, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe,
Jaguar  Land  Rover,  MAN  Nutzfahrzeuge,  Porsche,  PSA Peugeot Citroën,
Renault,  Scania, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen and Volvo. They provide

direct  employment to more than 2.3 million people and indirectly support another  10  million  jobs.  Annually, ACEA members invest €26 billion in

R&D, or 5% of turnover.

For further information, please contact Sigrid de Vries,

Director  Communications,

ACEA   +32 2 738 73 45

or sv@acea.be

Please also visit www.acea.be