Ivan Hodac is a Danish national born to Czech parents in Prague which is a good start. He speaks English, Czech, Danish, French, German, Dutch and Russian which is better still. He works in Brussels in a medium-sized block of offices on the Avenue of Nerviens. His office is spacious, leaning towards the chrome-and-glass genre of shabby chic, and is notable for a black leather comfy chair and sofa which is where the interview takes place.
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He is medium-build, fit-looking, casually dressed in a black roll-neck, and 60.
Ask him what he has achieved lately as an opening question and he starts with a bit of a homily about Acea raising recognition and maintaining unity. But then he relaxes a little, tunes in to the language of the moment, and says: “We have managed to maintain a united industry on most of the issues. We speak with one voice on all the main issues.”
What he really means is that he is the man who for the last six years has stopped car-making competitors fighting and falling out. No doubt being multi-lingual and multi-cultural has been a big help. Whatever the genesis of his skill, skill he definitely has. The industry principals speak well of him and the chief executives of all the European OEMs turn up to sit in the black leather comfy chairs in the anonymous building four times a year every year.
Actually, to say they all do is stretching the truth a bit; Nissan, Toyota and Honda are substantial manufacturers in Europe but are not members of ACEA – the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Toyota wants to be but has been declined. The other two have not bothered to ask. It is a bit odd that Japanese-domiciled carmakers can’t be members while American-domiciled carmakers can.
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By GlobalDataWith consummate ease, Hodac bats it away. A single gesture tells you that this really is not a mainstream issue. The united fronts of trade bodies are full of such anomalies.
Hodac is the man at the eye of the storm over CO2 emission limits. He inherited the policy of voluntary agreements but it was he who had to blow the whistle and admit that the self-imposed limit of 140 grams of carbon per kilometre, per average car produced in Europe, would not be reached by 2008.
Now there is to be regulation from the European Commission to ensure that cars reach 130g/km by 2012. There are to be other measures which amount to lot of haggling about the way that the CO2 can be taken down to 120g/km without relying entirely on engine redevelopment. Maintaining tyre pressure and optimising gear changing are two that have been for instanced by commissioners making policy on the hoof.
Hodac got very cross on the February day that the carbon dioxide debate blew up and burst. The statement issued in the name of ACEA was almost intemperate because he thought that he had an understanding with the politicians that car makers would do their thing to contribute to carbon emission reduction a fast as they reasonably could – provided other contributions were made by other people.
In particular, he sympathises with carmakers who feel compelled to build what people want to buy. When Porsche or Peugeot launches a new sport utility vehicle it is not leading consumers astray. They are building what consumers will buy. It is Governments that can stop the next big fuel burner being built by imposing heavier tax on heavy carbon producers. At the moment, the penalty imposed through petrol tax, company car benefit tax and prospectively through parking permit premiums are slight.
“We need CO2-based taxation and are lobbying about this now. One of the problems is that no-one wants to buy the fuel-efficient vehicles. Only taxation can pull those cars into the market.”
What does rile him is the inability of EC departments to talk to each other. Despite his highly sophisticated endeavours, there appears to be no common language. The failure of the car industry to meet its own target was just treated as a failure without mitigation. In fact one of the reasons for failure was the degree to which the safety department had pushed measures through which were contrary to the needs of the environment department.
“People are buying safety and comfort. There is no doubt that a 4×4 is safer in winter. But safe cars are heavy and so are comfortable cars. Weight is the enemy of fuel economy and carbon emission. No-one expected the sharp change in consumer demand when the 140g/km was first promised in 1998.”
Hodac took a great interest in the UK Government’s Stern Review which called for immediate action now to avoid more expensive action later. Stern helped Hodac’s case that vehicle technology alone was by far the most expensive means of getting CO2 reduction.
“We need more low carbon fuels. We need lower congestion and we need more economical driving. We need low resistance tyres and road surfaces; we need tyre-pressure monitors. They all contribute.”
What about scrapping the old cars with bounty payments in the way that the French have done over the years?
“Scrapping old cars would be by far the best result. But it would really have to be a policy that works across the EU (because otherwise the old cars would just move to wherever the bounty payments were greatest).
“You would have to get a certificate of scrappage and you would be given money for that.
“We have been discussing it but we have never had it as a policy matter. It has never been a goal in itself. We are always being told that it is self-interested (because it generates sales of new cars).”
National governments do have a capability to get to grips with legislating for a step change in driver behaviour, Hodac points out. With a bit of effort there is no reason why they should not be uniform behaviour across the EC.
“In France, Chirac said that he wanted an improvement in safety. So they enforced regulation on speed, seat belts and alcohol and they got an improvement of 30%. Enforcement does bring a change to associated behaviour.”
The Czech looks across the Atlantic for a comparator that shows the European car producers in a good light. “It is about time the Americans started doing their bit. The average fuel consumption is still much lower than in Europe and the diesel content – as in Japan – is still pretty close to zero.”
Sergio Marchionne, the head of the Fiat Group and for today at least, by common consent, the cleverest man in carmaking, is Hodac’s boss. He has just been re-elected president of ACEA for a second term. Last month when the EC made its sudden move to seize control of the CO2 targets he responded on behalf of the industry with: “We cannot agree with the proposals…which are unbalanced and damaging to the European industry.”
That means that after six years of coaxing the carmakers to show some solidarity, and coaching the EC regulators to share responsibility for carbon emission reduction among more than just car engineers, he is right back in a position of confrontation.
Maybe at the age of 60 he was hoping to have reached a more amiable working position. It is seems certain that Marchionne and his cronies on the ACEA board would want to persuade him to stay. If he goes, his careful construction and management of an integrated plan goes with him.
It’s a slippery old job trying to keep politics out of the smooth operation of industry. And sometimes it’s tricky keeping other industries out of your industry.
Not far away from ACEA in Brussels is an association of margarine manufacturers who rather dislikes the idea that margarine ingredients might be redirected by Hodac’s lot from the margarine tub to the fuel tank.
To paraphrase, the margarinies say this:
“We like rapeseed oil because it reduces the saturated fat in the EU population. Rapeseed is increasingly now going into biodiesel and takes 60% of the crop. We estimate that by 2010 biodiesel will take more rapeseed than is grown in the EU and the food industry will have to shift to less healthy stuff.”
There are flaws in that argument which are not hard to see, and we can be certain that Hodac will be able to explain why it is better for people to be fat in a climate of low carbon emission than thin with the water-level rising. Twenty years ago, the self-same Ivan Hodac of Brussels, was the secretary general of the margarine manufacturers association.
It really is a slippery old business.
Rob Golding
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IVAN HODAC
Ivan Hodac is ACEA Secretary-General since 2001. Building on a large experience in EU affairs, he maintains close relationships with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU representatives of the Member States. As representative in Brussels of the 13 European automobile manufacturers, Hodac is also counterpart for other industry associations, NGOs and consumer organisations in Brussels.
Asked about his main professional goals at current, he said in a recent interview: “ACEA has established a serious and constructive dialogue with the EU institutions, reflecting the large importance on the automobile industry for the European economy and society. The industry has a united and strong voice in Brussels despite the fierce competition amongst the manufactures in the EU and other markets. One of my more personal goals is to achieve wider recognition of the industry’s value for Europe and raise acknowledgement of the achievements of the industry, specifically in the areas of the environment and road safety. The European automobile sector is a responsible industry and contributes to the future of many Europeans. It is the true engine of Europe.”
Hodac (1946) was born in Prague and holds a Danish passport. He studied mechanical engineering in Prague, economics and political science in Copenhagen and European studies at the College of Europe, Bruges.
Before joining ACEA, he was senior vice president and head of Time Warner Europe office. His responsibilities included the co-ordinating of public and corporate affairs activities of all Time Warner operating divisions in Europe and representing Time Warner corporate interests vis-à-vis the institutions of the European Union, international organisations and governments of EU Member States and other European countries.
Previously, Hodac was secretary-general of trade organisation IFMA/IMACE, senior economist at Didier & Associates and assistant at the College of Europe, Bruges.
Hodac is married and has two grown-up sons.
