Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo will function president of the European automakers’ commerce group ACEA, succeeding BMW CEO Oliver Zipse.

De Meo has been nominated for a one-year time period, renewable for one yr, though presidents historically serve two years. 

ACEA, based in 1991, represents 16 automotive, truck and bus producers, however the group has been in flux over the previous yr. Stellantis, which has 14 manufacturers, introduced in June that it was pulling out of the group and would maintain its personal occasions. Volvo Vehicles stated in July that it could go away the group. 

Members have clashed over coverage positions, largely over the group’s place on emissions laws. ACEA had expressed reservations concerning the EU’s plan to cut back fleet CO2 emissions to zero by 2035, basically outlawing internal-combustion autos, and had taken a skeptical stance concerning the want for pricey Euro 7 air pollution laws, that are to take impact in 2025.

De Meo, who has been CEO of Renault since 2020 and in addition labored at varied Fiat Chrysler and VW Group manufacturers, stated in a information launch that “ACEA will proceed to advocate for a stability between what is nice for the setting, what is nice for Europe’s financial system and what’s good for society.”

On Euro 7, he stated: “The Euro 7 proposal in its present form, nonetheless, would draw away huge human and monetary assets from electrification, on the very time when different world areas are creating a gorgeous funding setting for zero-emissions mobility.”

The ultimate proposal for Euro 7 was launched in November after months of delays.

Stellantis has stated that the ACEA exit is a part of a brand new strategy to handle future mobility points that features a shift away from conventional lobbying exercise.

The automaker is planning an annual “Freedom of Mobility” occasion, with the primary one scheduled for early 2023. The occasion’s objective is to establish “how one can carry clear, secure, and inexpensive freedom of mobility for society within the face of worldwide warming implications,” Stellantis stated.

Volvo stated in July that its sustainability technique is “not absolutely aligned with ACEA’s positioning and method of working at this stage. We due to this fact imagine it’s higher to take a special path for now.”

The automaker signaled that it could be open to becoming a member of one other group that higher aligned with its electrification goals. 

“Now we have one of the crucial formidable plans within the business, however we won’t understand zero-emission transport by ourselves,” Volvo stated. “We urge our friends to make their mark. Whoever does so will discover a robust ally in Volvo Vehicles. We stay up for working with companions to handle local weather change for a safer tomorrow.”