Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-11-19-Speech-3-038"
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"en.20081119.4.3-038"2
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"−
Madam President, Commissioner Verheugen, ladies and gentlemen, in the third quarter of this year, the European automotive industry has been hit by the deepening crisis in the global economy. This comes after the industry’s good performance in the second quarter of the year. All the leading automotive markets in the world are being affected, but with differing levels of seriousness.
Firstly, the fact that the European automotive industry is increasingly present in the emerging countries, which are both markets and production sites. It is in these emerging countries that growth, even if it is slowing down as I have already mentioned, remains a driving force.
The second factor is that there is a better new models policy, with models that are now more economical, ecological and in tune with consumers’ demands.
Finally, as I pointed out, given the productivity gains in previous years, the financial situation of the European industry is, at present, still relatively healthy.
Above all, in this situation, vigilance is required to prevent State subsidies granted to non-European manufacturers by their governments from distorting fair competition on the world market, in particular, on the emerging markets. Targeted and temporary support measures for European producers could prove useful, in particular, to improve the technological and ecological performance of the European car population, where the regulatory environment, as we know, is the most demanding in the world in terms of environmental legislation. This is what led European manufacturers to invest more heavily than their main American competitors in research and development to face up to these ecological challenges.
We can be pleased that this has given our industry a lead in the environmental sector, but we must be vigilant and make sure that it effectively maintains this lead. The Commission – I shall leave Commissioner Verheugen to expand on this – will make proposals on 26 November regarding European measures to support industry, especially the automotive sector. The European Investment Bank is also being asked and should participate in the efforts underway at European level.
Member States must provide the Bank, if necessary, with the appropriate resources so that it will be in a position to make available new resources to support the automotive sector. Member States are also considering national actions to support their manufacturers. These efforts must be coordinated in order to maximise the effectiveness of this support. As it has done in other areas in response to the crisis, the French Presidency shall do its utmost to obtain joint European action on this major industrial issue.
The December European Council will debate the Commission’s proposals and the various national support plans that may have been put in place by then. This will, of course, involve acting consistently with the other political objectives of the Union. Support for the automotive sector must, in particular, respect the integrity of the internal market. It is in no one’s interest to take advantage of the crisis to create distortions on the automotive market and, naturally, this support must resolutely fall within the environmental objectives that the Union has set in the energy and climate change package.
I believe the Commission is working towards this. The Presidency is determined to promote the emergence of a balanced agreement between Member States and Parliament on a coordinated offensive approach in support of the automotive industries.
Sales in the United States have fallen by 32% in a year, reaching their lowest level in 25 years. The three big American car manufacturers – General Motors, Ford and Chrysler – have requested emergency aid from the Federal State. The emerging markets which, until this summer, offset the fall in sales for these countries, have also been hit by the crisis, but to a lesser degree.
In China, sales were down 1.4% in September. This is the second consecutive month of falling sales in China, following the 6.3% drop in August.
In Brazil, car sales were down 11% last month, for the first time since 1999.
The automotive market has not yet fallen in Russia, but there is a significant slowdown in this market and it could experience the first falls at the beginning of next year.
We can clearly see, then, that the situation is also worsening in the large emerging countries.
In Europe, vehicle registrations were down almost 4% over the period from the start of the year to last August. The end of the year may prove difficult and the decline in the automotive market could be around 5% for the whole of 2008, which, for this market, would be the worst result recorded since 1993.
Throughout the world, however, the automotive industry is making considerable efforts to tackle the crisis and is trying to find the foundations for new growth. The measures to reduce production will have negative knock-on effects on jobs in all value chains as well as on demand. We shall see this in the next few days.
Despite the difficult economic situation, the leading European car manufacturers will still be profitable in 2008, even though the growth rate in margins is obviously slowing down. They are able to maintain this profit situation given the very high productivity gains made over the last few years. The competitive position of the European automotive industry remains, therefore, relatively good – I am not saying this lightly –, and this is explained by three factors."@en1
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