This year, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) celebrates its 30th anniversary. Coinciding with this special occasion, ACEA officially launched a new brand identity, vision and website earlier in June.

Message from ACEA’s Director-General – June 2021

But let’s first briefly go back in time, to ACEA’s foundation 30 years ago under the French name l’Association des Constructeurs Européens d’Automobiles, which explains the widely recognised acronym still in use today.

ACEA was born from the merger of two existing European associations: the Comité des Constructeurs du Marché Commun, representing vehicle manufacturers (that had been around since 1972), and the Comité de Liaison de la Construction Automobile, which represented national associations (founded in 1957).

In the run-up to creating the European Single Market, both associations were merged into ACEA on 15 May 1991. Ever since, as the voice of the EU automobile industry, ACEA unites the manufacturers of the cars, trucks, vans and buses that power mobility for Europe.

“As the voice of the EU automobile industry, ACEA unites the manufacturers of the cars, trucks, vans and buses that power mobility for Europe.”

However, throughout the last three decades, we have seen much change. Mobility has evolved, the automobile industry has transformed itself, and we at ACEA have also changed a lot. One thing has remained constant over the years, though, and that is the strategic importance of the industry that we represent, which keeps Europe on the move and provides mobility to people worldwide.

The automobile industry is a technological world leader and Europe’s number one investor in R&D. Our sector is also the backbone of the EU economy, providing skilled jobs to millions of Europeans. But above all that, we keep Europe on the move – with our members providing a whole range of mobility solutions for moving people and goods from A to B. Mobility represents freedom and is a basic necessity.

But it does not come without some negative impacts, which we as an industry are committed to address and minimise in the interest of all citizens. Looking ahead, we, therefore, want to be a part of the solution for the challenges that the European Union is facing.

“Looking ahead, we want to be a part of the solution for the challenges that the European Union is facing” said Eric-Mark Huitema, ACEA Director-General.

As an industry, we are progressing on the road to zero-emission and zero-fatality transport. We are addressing massive key technological shifts. We are meeting the changing mobility needs of Europeans, which are profoundly transforming the way we move people and deliver goods across our continent.

And we will continue to re-invent ourselves to drive mobility for Europe and the world for the decades to come! Indeed, we are working towards a new era of mobility, where all Europeans can access affordable transport solutions that are Green & Clean, Smart & Efficient and Safe & Reliable.

Our mission is to drive Europe’s mobility transformation while at the same time ensuring that the EU auto industry remains a strong Global & Competitive player. Ready to face the challenges on the road ahead.

To that end, ACEA acts as one with common industry positions that also reflect the overarching interests of auto industry workers, transport users and operators, not to forget the mobility needs of all 450 million European citizens.

“ACEA acts as one with common industry positions that also reflect the overarching interests of auto industry workers, transport users and operators, not to forget the mobility needs of all 450 million European citizens.”

In light of this vision, we launched a new brand identity and tagline for ACEA earlier this month. One of the main aims of ACEA is to bring the industry’s collective expertise to policymakers, for instance, by sharing factual information to enable well-informed decisions, both here in Brussels and beyond.

That is why ACEA also launched a new website here at www.acea.auto, as part of this overhaul. Our new website contains a wealth of facts and figures on the EU auto industry, putting even more emphasis on interactive infographics and other valuable resources than before.

On a very practical note, I would like to flag that all future ACEA e-mails will now come from @acea.auto addresses – including our monthly newsletter. Please be reassured that all messages to our old addresses are being transferred to the new ones.

Source: ACEA