The Commercial Vehicle Board of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has elected Leif Johansson as its new chairman for 2010.
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Johansson is President and CEO of Volvo Group. At ACEA, he takes over from Leif Östling, CEO of Scania AB, who was ACEA commercial vehicle chairman in 2009.
“I look forward to further deepen our dialogue with the European Institutions on behalf of the European truck, van and bus manufacturing industry and I thank Mr Östling for his valuable work in 2009”, said Johansson.
“The commercial vehicle sector is affected more than many other industries by the economic crisis and we need policy makers to understand and address this situation. A return to economic growth is imperative for our companies to maintain their position as technology leaders throughout the world and sustain our substantial contribution to improving the environmental performance of road transport. We call on policy makers to deploy all possible means to ensure a supportive regulatory and business environment, which encompasses everything from access to capital to strengthening funding for R&D.”
“Our industry has been successful in reducing pollutant emissions and increasing fuel efficiency over the last decades as well as in 2009, and we want to keep that course also during these tough economic times”, added Östling. “The ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board will continue making its mark under the chairmanship of Mr Johansson and I wish him every success. Our industry is one of Europe’s engines of innovation and deserves to be recognised as such.”
Leif Johansson holds a degree in engineering and is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Group since 1997. He is also a member of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Before joining Volvo, Johansson was President and Chief Executive Officer of Electrolux.
Demand for new commercial vehicles has fallen sharply over the past year and a half, with European heavy truck registrations down 48.4% from January to November 2009. The European manufacturers estimate that the market has reached the bottom, but expect only a slow improvement in 2010.
