Us and European experts sign Joint declaration at AIC
Declaration describes automotive industry as strategic worldwide and that its future in USA and Europe depends on strengthening the industry and its capabilities as the basis for more innovation Experts say role of institutions vital for offering regulatory security to players involved These are just some of the conclusions from 1st Transatlantic Summit at AIC | 18/10/2010Bilbao, 18.10.2010--- US and
European experts have signed a Joint Declaration at AIC-Automotive Intelligence
Center calling for more support for the American and European automotive
industries.
Describing the automotive
industry as strategic all over the world, experts drew attention to the
industrys influence on national economies and its high management, quality,
research, environmental, safety and logistical levels. The extent and range of
the industrys social implications simply reinforced its central role.
In the experts view, the
future of the American and European automotive industry involved giving it
greater backing and reinforcing skills and abilities within the sector to
provide a solid economic basis for innovation.
Today new technologies, new
business models, new mobility requirements and new opportunities are appearing
all the time in the automotive industry, which obliges firms to think in terms
of cooperation with each other if they are to respond fast and efficiently to
the changes occurring in the sector.
But such responses have to be
approached from a global perspective, where all players act jointly, not just
on the vehicle, but also on legislation, infrastructures and the end consumer.
The experts also underlined
the role of institutions, which they describe as vital in offering regulatory
security to the players involved. Here they emphasized this role with regard to
vehicle electrification and the new developments this entails.
All these conclusions are the
result of the 1st Transatlantic Summit organized last week by AIC-Automotive
Intelligence Center and Clemson University International Center for Automotive
Research (CU-ICAR), attended by US and European experts. Planning work on
the second summit, to be held Stateside, is already under way.
The first edition of the
summit dealt specifically with new mobility trends, consumer preferences for
new vehicles and what they entailed for carmakers and suppliers.
Representatives from governments, carmakers, suppliers, universities and
research centers attended the 1st
Automotive Transatlantic Summit to exchange experiences and find common
ground to face up to new events developments and trends in the automotive
industry.
Leading participants included
Charles Wessner, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship manager at the US
National Academy of Sciences, Georgette Lalis, Director at the European
Commissions DG ENTERPRISE, Ivan Hodac, Secretary General of ACEA-European
Automobile Manufacturers Association, Kathryn Clay, Research Manager at the
Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers; and Julian Weber, BMWs Strategy
Director.
AIC-Automotive Intelligence Center AIC is a foundation promoted and
backed by Biscay Provincial Council, Amorebieta-Etxano and Ermua city halls, a
group of leading edge firms from the automotive industry and Basque automotive
cluster ACICAE. AIC integrates knowledge, technology
and industrial development under one umbrella in a bid to improve
competitiveness in the industry.
CU-ICAR (South Carolina, USA) is a research campus specializing in
cutting-edge technologies where universities, industry and government
organizations work together to support the automotive industry. The
interdisciplinaries de CU-ICAR multidisciplinary research portfolio
concentrates on issues relevant to the industry and receives funds from some of
the most respected firms working in the sector.