Brussels,  12/01/2010  -  The  Commercial  Vehicle Board of the European

Automobile  Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has elected Leif Johansson

as  its  new  chairman for 2010. Johansson is President and CEO of Volvo

Group.  At  ACEA, he takes over from Leif Östling, CEO of Scania AB, who

was ACEA commercial vehicle chairman in 2009.

“I  look  forward  to  further  deepen  our  dialogue  with the European

Institutions  on behalf of the European truck, van and bus manufacturing

industry  and  I  thank  Mr Östling for his valuable work in 2009”, said

Johansson.  “The  commercial  vehicle  sector is affected more than many

other  industries  by  the  economic crisis and we need policy makers to

understand  and  address  this situation. A return to economic growth is

imperative  for  our  companies to maintain their position as technology

leaders throughout the world and sustain our substantial contribution to

improving  the  environmental  performance of road transport. We call on

policy  makers  to  deploy  all  possible  means  to ensure a supportive

regulatory  and  business environment, which encompasses everything from

access to capital to strengthening funding for R&D.”

“Our  industry  has  been successful in reducing pollutant emissions and

increasing fuel efficiency over the last decades as well as in 2009, and

we  want  to  keep  that course also during these tough economic times”,

added  Östling.  The  ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board will continue making

its  mark  under  the  chairmanship of Mr Johansson and I wish him every

success.  Our  industry  is  one  of  Europe’s engines of innovation and

deserves to be recognised as such.”

Leif  Johansson holds a degree in engineering and is President and Chief

Executive  Officer of the Volvo Group since 1997. He is also a member of

the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and of the Royal Swedish Academy

of  Engineering  Sciences. Before joining Volvo, Johansson was President

and Chief Executive Officer of Electrolux.

About the European commercial vehicle industry

Demand for new commercial vehicles has fallen sharply over the past year

and  a  half,  with  European  heavy truck registrations down 48.4% from

January  to  November 2009. The European manufacturers estimate that the

market  has  reached  the  bottom, but expect only a slow improvement in

2010.  They  have  taken  numerous  measures to adapt output levels, but

pressure  on  permanent  employment  levels  is mounting. The commercial

vehicle  industry  is  an  important  part  of  the  European automobile

industry  and  currently  employs  about 1.5 million people directly and

indirectly in Europe.

Vehicle manufacturers go to great lengths to sustain investments in R&D,

most  notably in the fields of road safety and emissions reduction. Just

the upcoming Euro VI emission requirements alone would require immediate

industry  level investments of EUR 6-8 billion. Pollutant emissions such

as nitrogen oxide and particulate matter have already been reduced by as

much as 85% and 95% respectively since the late 1980s.

Another main priority remains the further improvement of fuel and energy

efficiency  in  order  to  contribute  to  global CO2 emission reduction

objectives. The commercial vehicle industry has cut the fuel consumption

of its products by more than a third since the 1970s. Progress continues

through  improved  combustion  engines,  hybrid  trucks and buses, other

innovative  drive-trains and the use of alternative fuels. A further 20%

increase  in  fuel  efficiency  per  tonnekilometre is envisaged by 2020

(compared  to  2005),  and will require the utmost of the manufacturers’

engineers and management.

About ACEA

The  ACEA  commercial  vehicle members are Daimler AG, DAF Trucks, Iveco

SpA,  MAN AG, Scania AB, Volkswagen AG and AB Volvo. They produce trucks

and  engines in over ten EU countries, including Germany, France, Italy,

Spain,  Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and

the Czech Republic. The ACEA CV Board elects a new chairman every year.

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

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