The CARS 21 High Level Group has adopted a 10-year roadmap to create a more competitive and safer car industry in European Union (EU). The Group, set up by the European Commission, agreed on a number of recommendations to make cars cleaner, safer and to simplify the legal process for EU car makers. These include measures to further reduce CO2 emissions and improve road safety through the introduction of new crash avoidance technologies. It also recommends the simplification of the existing regulatory framework and a more global approach to future vehicle standards.
Max Mosley, a member of CARS 21 High Level Group and FIA President, believes that these measures will benefit both the industry and the consumer. He said: “By providing a road map for further progress in making cars cleaner and safer, the report gives the industry clear tasks to achieve and the customer the prospect of better and more affordable cars. I am especially pleased that CARS 21 encourages a fast track for the use of life saving crash avoidance technologies such as Electronic Stability Control. Also by integrating plans to reduce vehicle emissions with complimentary policies of Member States such as fiscal incentives, the effectiveness of the EU strategy to tackle climate change and improve air quality should be substantially increased.”
CARS 21 will also encourage global convergence of vehicle safety and emission standards through greater use of the United Nations World Forum for Motor Vehicle Standards Harmonisation in Geneva. This will help provide economies of scale that can significantly reduce the costs of advanced safety and environmental technologies. “Global harmonisation of safety and environmental standards worldwide is important if we really want to deal effectively with global warming, and help to reduce the 1.2 million people killed on the world’s roads each year” commented Max Mosley after the launch of the report at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.
CARS 21 (which stands for Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st Century) was chaired by Günter Verheugen, Vice President of the European Commission, and included senior representatives from member state governments, the European Parliament and from the automotive industry and consumer/user groups. The FIA Foundation’s Director General, David Ward, participated in the so-called ‘sherpa’ group of CARS 21 that prepared the draft Report which was formally adopted by the High Level Group on December 12th.
In 2006, the European Commission will come forward with legislative proposals consistent with the CARS 21 recommendations and road map. There will be a mid-term review in 2009 in view of the progress made and technological developments.
Download Cars 21 final report >