Bonometti: Italy must adopt an industrial plan aligned with the European framework; recovery depends on the automotive sector

Rome, 18 October 2019 – “The Italian and European automotive sector is at a crossroads: innovate or perish. Europe must rediscover its unity of purpose regarding the motor vehicle through a community industrial policy that defines its positioning on electric and autonomous driving.

If the European level chooses to perish, it will be a slow agony for Italy: in our country, the 5,700 companies involved in the supply chain and the 1.2 million workers produce 6% of the national GDP, with an employment multiplier effect of 3.

Not all the blame, however, lies with the European Union: in Italy, there has been no sectoral industrial policy for decades; long-term regulations are missing, there is no coordination between the various players in the supply chain, and the instruments for supporting industry are limited and ineffective. As Lombardy, during last month's World Manufacturing Forum, we initiated a dialogue with the other most virtuous and competitive regions in Europe (Baden-Württemberg, Catalonia, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), sharing our concerns but, above all, the need for a European industrial policy plan based on 3 pillars: Research and Innovation, Circular Economy, and Training.

The objectives of this Plan must be:

• strengthening and modernising the supply chain through investments involving large companies, SMEs, research centres, and European universities working on technological drivers (electric mobility, hydrogen, natural gas, biofuels) and on recycled materials and vehicle weight reduction;

• new technologies and materials (autonomous driving, hi-tech batteries, big data);
• new business models (sharing mobility, pay-per-use);
• industrial transition to compete with Chinese electric vehicles and American software;

We ask the Italian government to:

- Immediately discontinue the 'Ecotassa' (eco-tax), as the current system has penalised sales of Italian vehicles and created confusion among consumers;

- Renew the vehicle fleet: incentives and tax relief are needed for financing the purchase of new vehicles;

- Harmonise the European regulatory system in order to defend the competitiveness of our companies against the United States and China;

- Relaunch 'Impresa 4.0' with a medium/long-term strategy to provide certainty to the industry.

Statement by the President of Confindustria Lombardia, Marco Bonometti, on the occasion of the Automotive Roundtable meeting.