Automotive News Europe - September 2019 - 8

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

COVER STORY

the EU unveiled plans in November to
become entirely carbon neutral by 2050.
Brussels expects this roadmap will achieve
three things: give businesses clarity to invest going forward; slash energy imports
worth 266 billion euros annually by an estimated 70 percent; and reduce premature
deaths caused by air pollution currently estimated at nearly half a million.
Polls indicate widespread support for
these policies. Eco-friendly parties across
Western Europe expanded their seats by
nearly half in the EU Parliament following
elections in May. In Germany, the Green
Party is running nearly neck and neck
with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives for the first time in history.

Youth movement
This is being driven primarily by young
people who are taking to the streets to
demand change. Whether it is movements such as Fridays For Future or the
Extinction Rebellion, today's youngsters
are participating by the thousands in climate marches.
Teenage activist Greta Thunberg from
Sweden, who sparked the Fridays For
Future demonstrations, is now calling
on adults to join their children in a
global protest on September 20. These
budding consumers are at an age when
they are forming affiliations to certain
brands. Automakers know they will
have to address their concerns if they
want to one day be on their shopping
lists. When asked why Volvo is retrofitting its car plants to be climate neutral by 2025, purchasing boss Martina
Buchhauser said: "Our customers want
us to be there."
In July, VW introduced a new sustainability rating for its 40,000 suppliers
that could mean certain businesses no
longer get contracts should they get a
failing grade. Mercedes is following suit.
To help facilitate this shift to a circular
economy, automakers have banded together under the Drive Sustainability
initiative to harmonize vetting criteria
for parts manufacturers. Paperwork and
red tape could be minimized for suppliers, saving them money, while enabling
their customers to make more responsible choices. Some don't even need to
be asked. Robert Bosch, which provided
emissions management software used
by VW Group to cheat emissions tests,
said in May it aims to eliminate all net

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Audi offsets all
emissions that
occur during
production at its
plant in Brussels (shown) by
using renewable
energy to power
the factory and
by involvement
in environmental
projects.
new carbon emissions at its 400-plus
global sites starting next year. Bosch
claims this will cost it 1 billion euros
through 2030. The efforts have met with
cautious approval from vocal longtime
critics of the industry such as Greg Archer, UK director at advocacy group
Transport & Environment. "I don't believe that it's really embedded deeply
within the companies, but for me it's
certainly a real change even if it is not
yet irreversible," he said.
Recent scandals unsurprisingly mean
that the motivations and sincerity of auto
companies will be questioned. Attempts
by automakers to shift the debate from
a sole focus on tailpipe emissions to a
more holistic "cradle to grave" approach,
for example, could be seen as an attempt
to put their combustion engine cars in
a somewhat more flattering light when
compared with EVs. Even the slightest
miscommunication or out-of-touch remark can justify doubters' suspicions.
Mercedes was forced to apologize on
social media for making light of climate
change after promising on Twitter that if
this summer wasn't already a scorcher,
its high-performance AMG GLA 45 would
"heat things up" even further.

Protests planned
Fearing the industry would love nothing more than a return to business as
usual, more than 15,000 protesters
from Greenpeace and five other advocacy groups aim to demonstrate at
this month's Frankfurt auto show in favor of fewer cars clogging city streets.
One of them will be Jens Hilgenberg, a
transport policy expert at Friends of the
Earth Germany (BUND), who says the
industry's claims that it will finally accept responsibility for the problems its

products cause comes 10 years too late.
While he welcomed the latest efforts,
Hilgenberg believes the claims are at
least partially an attempt to deflect attention away from rising fleet emissions
driven by their shift away from cars to
less-efficient SUVs. "I would love to
believe them, but experience tells me
otherwise," Hilgenberg said. After all,
other sectors are already further along,
South Pole's Weber said. "This push cuts
across industries, we see this a lot in
consumer goods where companies are
reacting to the 'Greta [Thunberg] Effect.'
The heavy goods manufacturers have
typically been slower."
CEOs from 200 different companies will
travel to Brussels on November 1 to urge
the newly constituted EU Commission to
take concerted action on climate issues,
but so far Toyota Europe boss Johan van
Zyl will be the only one from an automaker joining them. At the end of the day,
however, companies ultimately serve the
consumer and if their behavior changes,
then so must the products offered.
Tesla played a key role in redefining
what constitutes a socially responsible
luxury performance car. "It is just not acceptable anymore to your neighbors and
your golf club buddies to destroy the environment," Berylls' Kipferler explained.
Audi's design chief, Marc Lichte, is seeing that shift in his own home. He spoke
very personally when he described
which consumers he has in mind with
his upcoming line of high-quality vegan
interiors made with recycled materials.
"My eldest daughter is 15. She doesn't
eat meat and tells me she doesn't want
to sit down on a dead animal," he said.
"And on Fridays she hits the streets to
participate in the demonstrations." ANE

SEPTEMBER 2019

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Automotive News Europe - September 2019

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