On April 26th, 2018, jointly organized by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and CCTV Financial Channel, the 2018 China Automobile Forum supported by the World Automobile Organization (OICA) was held in Beijing. Dr. Thomas Meurers, President of the World Automobile Organization (OICA), Murong Dr. Te made a wonderful speech at the conference forum.
The following is a splendid speech by Dr. Thomas Meurers, Dr. Thomas Meurers, President of the World Motor Organization (OICA):
Dear Ms. Wan Gang, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning, everyone. It is a great privilege to be here today to represent you on behalf of OICA. We know that OICA has been supporting this conference since 2013. First, I’ll introduce OICA, OICA. There are 19 members covering all continents, including various industry associations. We have cooperation with China, Russia, South Korea, India and other countries and regions. Their national industrial associations are our members. We will also discuss the corresponding Technical regulations, together to prepare the production and sales data of the global automotive industry. We will also integrate the corresponding international auto show. We currently have many exhibitions authorized by international auto organizations. Of course, the most important responsibility is to be responsible for The automotive industry communicates and communicates together.
We all know that last year's economic growth accelerated. Although there are still some political uncertainties and economic risks in many countries, we can see that the economy as a whole has seen an upward trend in 2018. We can see that There are significant growth rates in both developed and emerging economies. For example, the United States, Japan, although there was a previous economic downturn, the overall recovery rate is now very good, Europe is the same, and the overall labor market is also healthy. The growth trend. And we have seen that the central banks of many countries and regions have adopted active liberalization policies in the past few years to support economic growth. The same is true of emerging economies, China’s economy continues to grow, and India’s economic growth momentum also last year. Although Brazil suffered a recession last year, it has been given a breathing space due to rising raw materials.
Let's take a look at the automotive market. The entire global automotive market is still growing, and it has been growing for eight years in a row. In 2017, the overall growth was 3% and the number of cars was 96.8 million. We see China's Production and sales contribute a large proportion of this figure. We have statistics on passenger cars, commercial vehicles, etc. The global growth rate averages at 2%. In 2018, we also expect a new round of global Growth, but there may be some volatility. We expect the global auto market will grow by 1%. If we look at different countries, there will be different development situations, such as North America. In the past 7 years, the growth rate It is relatively fast. In 2016, it has also reached a certain degree of fluctuation. South America is also constantly recovering, but the overall market volume is still at a relatively low value. In Europe, we also see a relatively good trend, and automobile production and sales have reached the highest level. Values. Asia is also growing. Last year's growth rate has been maintained. Automobile production in Africa continues to grow for eight consecutive years, but its starting point is still relatively low.
In fact, the auto world organizations are paying more and more attention to trade issues. First of all, we can see that international competition is becoming more and more fierce. However, more and more auto manufacturers are still willing to join our association because they are very important to the economy. Our Economic growth, employment and prosperity are closely related to the automotive industry. No country can meet the needs of the people by relying solely on its own production. Of course, each country has its own car production. Of course, not only does it want to supply domestic production, but also hopes. Increased exports. Therefore, free market access and the elimination of trade barriers are very important to the global automotive production and employment boom. We are very happy to see that China now has double production and sales this year. It can be seen from our experience. The stable direct investment and free trade in all markets in the world are just like the two sides of the coin for sustainable economic development. This is true in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. We want to make medium and long-term local production. It is necessary to ensure that there are sufficient export opportunities, and that it is also true for the entire value chain. Every efficient automobile economy must have an international supplier system. All automobile manufacturers are closely connected. Basically, the 75% increase in the value of automobiles is from suppliers. Therefore, we must do our best to Eliminate trade barriers. We hope that all countries can open their borders.
In the long run, if we want to achieve truly efficient commercial production, we must use a global value chain. This is beneficial to both employees and consumers. Consumers want high-quality products at low prices and can help us in the international division of labor. Get more employees. So we want to better support international trade and market access. Our initiative for free trade is also being showcased at the WTO. Last year we listed 2,200 cases of violations of free trade. We are also global Within the coordination of various technical rules, we do so for a reason. For the global automotive industry, it seems inappropriate for each country to have its own independent technical requirements. This will result in higher product prices, and it is also for consumers. Unfavorable. When different rules get the same emphasis, they can recognize each other, just like our free trade agreement.
Our automotive industry is constantly changing. Electric mobility and digitalization are changing our industry. We must adapt to this trend. We need not only new demands and higher investment, but also industrial policies and the environment. A new balance between policies has been found. There is no doubt that the world’s auto organizations attach great importance to global climate protection. We are working hard to reduce carbon emissions in new cars. They have invested heavily in research and development and are a Global topics are the same in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. CO2 emission reduction targets are different in different regions, the EU is 95, China is 117 grams, and the United States is 119. Global politicians should coordinate with each other and work together.
When it comes to the regulation of carbon dioxide, Europe should see developments in other parts of the world. On the contrary, Europe has not done so. The European Commission has also proposed a 2030 emission reduction target that will reduce carbon emissions by 30% and will become the lowest in the world. There is a medium-term goal in 2025 to reduce carbon emissions by 15%. These are all very serious challenges for the automotive industry. From now on, it is hard to believe that CO2 emission reduction targets can be achieved because it depends on consumers. Whether or not to use other power systems, and how fast our infrastructure is built. We are very concerned about the fact that the EU has not discussed with other countries the regulatory requirements for the next decade, and people have similar needs for personal safety, not only Traffic on the road, and hope to maintain the natural life support system. We must have a globally coordinated strategy to reduce CO2 emissions. After all, CO2 emissions are a global topic, so there should not be any national boundaries.
Therefore, Europe itself cannot separate itself from other regions. The United States and Asia also hope that the EU can cooperate with them. Overall, on the one hand, the international competition of the EU automobile industry will be more serious than that of other competitors. On the one hand, Europe’s unilateral demands on our common global challenges actually bring in some additional costs that could have been avoided. These costs will be borne by our ordinary people and consumers.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The World Automobile Organization hopes to provide our consumers with better road safety. We can see that the networking of cars includes automatic driving. In fact, 90% of accidents on roads are caused by humans. It is seldom the fault of the car itself. The digitization can support us to warn some drivers of harmful behaviors. This has become a major trend and has also become a major cause of innovation. For companies, the qualifications of employees need to be reviewed and more IT is needed. Talents. These new technologies cannot cover the entire world overnight. In some mature markets, especially metropolitan areas, the digitization process will be faster than others. Legislators all over the world need It began to create a basis for supervision to use these new technologies throughout the world. Therefore, the use of such new technologies should also be compatible with economic development and infrastructure construction. These technologies also need to be used globally slowly. , so it’s important to say that we need to benefit humanity as a whole. We need to be ready for digital To better road safety.
To sum up, first of all, it brings good news for the automotive industry in the spring. The global automotive industry is continuously growing. The output of passenger cars and commercial vehicles is also growing. But in many countries there is political uncertainty, global auto Industries also face enormous technical challenges, such as trade protection, electric mobility and digitalization. We need to find a balance between economic protection and employment. In some countries, the automobile industry needs to face a large number of trade restrictions. We must reduce Trade protectionism, which will make individuals travel more expensive. We believe that there will be more competition in the world, new manufacturers will join the auto production chain, and our demand for future travel is constantly changing. The demand is completely different from the past. But we also determine that the automotive industry can respond to these challenges. We can use our innovation. We also have good staff. Of course, policy makers also need to take action. Therefore, environmental goals and economic growth. The goals are very important. We need to understand that economic growth and employee employment are our priorities. The most important one. Thank you.