Leader Awards given to Volkswagen, Peugeot and Robert Bosch

Awarded during official dinner ANE Congress is the premier automotive event in Europe, bringing together 350 industry leaders | 23/06/2010

Bilbao, 23.6.2010--- Automotive News and AIC-Automotive Intelligence

Center presented the inaugural LEADER Awards (Leaders in European Automotive

Development, Excellence and Research) during an official dinner to:

·

OEM: Volkswagen is

being honored for its innovation in environmental technologies and the

advancement of alternative propulsion systems.

·

Retailer: Peugeot is

being honored for its innovative “Mu by Peugeot” program that allows customers

to buy mobility units with which they can rent cars, scooters and even bicycles

on a short-term basis.

·

Supplier: Robert Bosch is

being recognized for its work in active safety electronics.

The awards ceremony took

place as part of the Automotive News Europe Congress, which brought together

350 automotive industry leaders June 22 and 23 in Bilbao.

In this sense, Bilbao [[and the AIC]] became the focal point

of the European auto industry, serving as the meeting place for top executives

from vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to analyze experiences and study

trends in various fields of interest.

During the presentation of

the Congress, Automotive News Director Jason Stein praised the “innovative

nature of the AIC” and called it “a model worth following in the automotive

industry.”

Inés Anitua, Managing Director of the AIC, said, “It

is an honor for the AIC to host an event as important as the Automotive News

Europe Congress, a reference within the automotive world that brings together key

industry leaders and which previously has been held in cities such as London,

Paris and Turin.”

The main theme of the

Congress is “Solutions For After A Crisis,” focused on three elements:

Intelligence – appropriate decisions after the crisis; Innovation – solutions

based on technological improvements and ecological alternatives; and

Integration – opportunities arising from collaboration between OEMs and suppliers.

Speakers include the presidents of General Motors and Ford Europe, Nick

Reilly and John Fleming, respectively, as well as other vehicle manufacturer

executives such as Ian Robertson, Board Member, Sales and Marketing at BMW; Victor

Muller, CEO of Spyker and Saab; Harald J. Wester and Alfredo Altavilla, Technical

Director and Executive Director at Fiat, respectively; and Tier 1 suppliers

including Magna.

The AIC-Automotive Intelligence Center is a foundation led by the

Provincial Council of Bizkaia (Basque Country, Spain), the municipalities of Amorebieta-Etxano

and Ermua, a group of leading companies in the automotive sector and ACICAE,

the Basque automotive cluster. AIC focuses on knowledge, training, technology

and industrial development in order to improve the competitiveness of the

automotive sector.