Daimler Board of Management member Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard becomes Chairman of the ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board in Brussels

26-6-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, the Daimler Board of Management member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses, has become Chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Board of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Dr. Bernhard succeeds Andreas Renschler, who had been the board’s chairman since January 2013. The Chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Board is elected annually and the position alternates among the members.

Dr. Bernhard emphasized the board’s importance at its meeting on Friday, June 14, 2013. “As commercial vehicle manufacturers, we can only be successful and sustainable in the long run if we jointly articulate and address our industry’s developments, progress, and demands, and make them known to political decision-makers,” he said.

In addition, Bernhard pointed out that the manufacturers aim to further reduce the commercial vehicles’ CO2 emissions. “Although the Euro VI standard increases fuel consumption and emissions, the industry has done everything it could to significantly cut CO2 emissions. In the years ahead, we will continue to spend billions of euros on research and development in this area. I’m convinced that we will reach the Vision 20-20 target,” stated Bernhard. In the Vision 20-20 initiative, the European commercial vehicle manufacturers have committed themselves to reducing CO2 emissions by 20% per ton-kilometer by 2020.

According to Bernhard, there is an urgent need to inform the public about vehicle requirements with regard to weight and dimensions. “Aerodynamic improvements have greatly contributed to reducing fuel consumption and increasing efficiency,” he says. “However, most of the savings — and I’m referring here to reductions between five and eight percent — are achieved behind the cab, on the trailer. We have to explain these facts more clearly and effectively to the political decision-makers so that they are taken into account in the current political debate.”

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Heinz Gottwick
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Tobias Ködel
Corporate Communications Human Resources
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