ACEA

Useful links

• ACEA Members
• ACEA Associated Organisations
• ACEA Secretariat
• ACEA Board
• Where to find us
• ACEA Institutional Relations
• Q&A; with Ivan Hodac, Secretary General of ACEA
• Press Releases about ACEA
• ACEA Trade and Economics Internship 2013

What is ACEA?

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), founded in 1991, represents the interests of the eighteen European car, truck and bus manufacturers at EU level.

Its membership consists of the major international automobile companies, working together in an active association to ensure effective communication and negotiation with legislative, commercial, technical, consumer, environmental and other interests. The members of ACEA are competitors in the automobile market place and support free and fair competition as a trade policy and a legal concept.

ACEA is an Economic Interest Grouping. Its headquarters are based in Brussels and made up of the Secretary General and the Secretariat. In 1995 and 2004, ACEA opened additional offices in Tokyo and Beijing.

The Board of Directors is composed of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the automobile companies which are members of the Grouping. The Board has authority to take decisions on all relevant issues and elects, within its circle, a President for one year, with the possibility of re-election once. The decisions of the Board are prepared by a Joint Committee, composed of senior executives of the members and chaired by the Secretary General. If needed, specific issues may be discussed beforehand by a more specialised Committee.

Technical expertise and advisory input comes from over twenty different working groups, made up of experts from the member companies.

Why ACEA?

ACEA was established as a response to the gradual shift to Brussels of government responsibility for many of the complex economic, social, technical and legal issues resulting from closer European integration. The origin of ACEA largely arose from the need to represent the technological, industrial and commercial contributions and interests of its member companies.

Through its specialist working groups and an extensive network of individual experts from Member Companies at all levels of the industry, ACEA has access to a wealth of expertise and applied technical experience which is unsurpassed in the EU.

The Association readily provides this expertise as an input during the regular dialogues it maintains with legislators, regulators and other EU authorities. In this way ACEA contributes significantly to practical and effective law making, which combines realism with sensible control, to the benefit of all concerned.

ACEA also provides clear and objective information on the many complex aspects of the automobile industry. This permits effective interaction with decision-makers and partner organisations and encourages understanding of the diverse industry issues.

How does ACEA work?

ACEA has engaged itself in activities, which include, but are not limited to, the following actions:

• dialogue: with the European Union at all levels, and with all others concerned by the automobile industry, including the European public. Because there is such strong interaction between what happens in the industry and what happens in society and the economy, this dialogue is an integral part of the industry's social responsibility;
• cooperation: with policy makers, legislators and opinion-makers, in order to make use of the industry's experience and expert knowledge, to advance mutual understanding of industry-related issues and to make a constructive contribution to realistic and effective legislation, bearing in mind the interests of European society and its economy.
• partnership: among all its members and with associated organisations and related industries in defining, developing and supporting the common interests, policies and positions of the European automobile industry;
• strategic reflection: on the increasingly global challenges of competition and social responsibility, drawing on the strengths and expertise of its members;
• communication: of the role and importance of the industry, of its common views and of reliable data and information;
• monitoring: of all activities which influence the automobile industry, responding to and cooperating with the actors involved.

ACEA - Co-operation & Collaboration

ACEA has permanent and close co-operation with the European Council for Automotive R&D; (EUCAR), which was established in 1994 as the research arm of the industry. EUCAR's purpose is to strengthen the competitiveness of the European automotive industry by promoting and carrying out co-operative research and development of products, processes and systems.

ACEA maintains close relationships with all the national automobile manufacturers' associations and with a number of organisations, having interests related to the automobile industry. These include the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), Intelligent Transport Systems - Europe (ERTICO), the European Committee for Motor Trades and Repairs (CECRA), the European Road Safety Federation (ERSF), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Union of Industrial Employers' Confederation of Europe (UNICE).

ACEA also maintains a dialogue on international issues with automobile associations around the world (JAMA, KAMA, AAM, ATPC).

---

Press Releases about ACEA

more...

---

Go back