Vision and Challenges

Vision

Collaborative automotive and transport R&D aims to contribute to an accessible, safe, diverse and affordable transport system for people and goods that works in an efficient way and is able to cope with today’s and tomorrow’s demands and environmental limitations.

Challenges

The challenges ahead are significant and complex. The trends in transport growth are in conflict with aspirations to limit global warming and climate change. Globally, it is anticipated that passenger car ownership is set to more than double in 20 years or less, and truck transport and aviation will increase significantly.

The growing demand for mobility and transport on a road infrastructure, which is reaching its maximum capacity in many European towns and cities, is clear to see in terms of recurrent congestion and unpredictability of journey times. The susceptibility to network breakdown in the event of serious incidents is too common, particularly on urban and interurban roads. These manifestations have serious economic and social impacts on businesses and individuals.

Consequently, mobility and transport need to be managed in order to ensure accessibility in a cost efficient way, so that the appealing benefits that road transport brings to society are not significantly compromised by the impacts on the environment, on people’s health and safety, on the quality of life and on the efficient conduct of day-to-day business.

The current economic downturn, the rising cost of energy and raw materials, the need to meet societal needs for an efficient multi-modal transport system, and the policy to make full use of existing infrastructures before new roads can be justified, present formidable challenges to the automotive industry, which operates in a very competitive global market.

In conclusion, the European automotive industry needs to address these complex, and at times conflicting, challenges head on, in order to provide viable solutions and safeguard its role as a major contributor in global automotive market thereby maintaining its position as employer of many people in Europe.