ECG — 2025-03-19
News from ECG
Photo © ECG : Wolfgang Göbel, ECG President, Dinner Debate, 18 March 2025, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
ECG - the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, hosted a Dinner Debate on 18 March 2025 in the European Parliament in Brussels, titled “Driving the future: the role of finished vehicle logistics in Europe´s automotive industry.”
Industry operators, policymakers, and key stakeholders discussed the increasing administrative burden caused by regulation and the need to adopt a long-term approach for an efficient and resilient supply chain in the FVL sector at a time when the OEMs might benefit from some relief from the regulation perspective.
The Action Plan published on 5 March by the European Commission would allow car manufacturers to average their CO2 target compliance over three years to 2027, while maintaining the overall ambition for the 2025 targets. Additionally, the proposals within the Omnibus 1 package to postpone some reporting requirements would allow companies, especially SMEs in FVL, a much-needed breathing space for adapting without undue pressure and to focus their investments in decarbonizing their operations.
”Numerous reporting requirements lead to increased bureaucratic effort, resulting in high costs for companies as well as for authorities that need to review these reports. This creates a significant administrative burden without actually reducing CO₂ emissions, while also diverting funds away from potential investments due to the high administrative costs. We welcome these initiatives, simplifications of the EU regulations in the Omnibus I Package, and the pragmatic approach to reducing the administrative burden of calculating and reporting. Additionally, the proposed flexibility in the Action Plan for automotive will allow the sector to regain competitiveness while still meeting climate objectives," says Wolfgang Göbel, ECG President and a representative of one of over 200 member companies in the association, which includes firms that operate trucks, ships, and railway wagons, moving millions of vehicles across Europe each year.
The debate participants emphasized the cost of the green transition, the need to balance green and growth goals, and advocated for clearer regulations that do not overly burden companies. The ongoing transformation to decarbonize the FVL industry will persist as before.
“Ultimately, the cost of the clean transition must be shared through long term commitment. Transformation cannot be done on a quarterly basis." says Wolfgang Göbel.
MEP Alexandr Vondra, a member of the ECR Group and the Committee on the Environment, Climate, and Food Safety in the European Parliament, hosted the ECG Dinner Debate. He has criticized the Commission’s plan and called it a “catastrophe”, urging a technology-neutral approach instead of focusing on electromobility and a need to address heavy-duty commercial vehicles, which are currently excluded from the Commission’s proposals.
Alexandr Vondra:
“What’s important now are three things: First, the three-year average on fines is not enough. We need more, at least five years. Second, the one-sided attachment to electromobility must end. We must go the way of technological neutrality, including combustion engines for synthetic fuels and other tools. Third, a review in 2025 is OK, but you don´t deal with heavy-duty vehicles at all. We must do much, much more”.
The automotive industry is one of the most regulated sectors in Europe.
“ECG is not against regulation, but the rules must be designed to make the sector more efficient and secure and to promote fairer competition.”, says Wolfgang Göbel and continues.
“Over the years, so many regulations have been introduced that it has become almost impossible to operate efficiently. European companies are subject to much stricter rules than those that apply to companies outside Europe.”
The proposed Weights & Dimensions Directive and lack of harmonization of loaded length for car transporters is an example of a relatively simple regulation, leading to more sustainable and efficient transportation, yet it is still not finalized.
More photos from the ECG 2025 Dinner Debate here.
Note to editors:
ECG is the established European platform for the outbound automotive logistics sector bringing together logistics service providers, manufacturer logistics managers and suppliers to the sector. ECG aims to facilitate non-commercial collaboration between member companies and assist them in sharing best practices in many operational areas, especially the harmonisation of operational standards.
For more information, please contact:
Frank Schnelle
Executive Director
ECG – The Association of European Vehicle Logistics
+32 2 706 82 80
info@ecgassociation.eu
www.ecgassociation.eu
About ECG
ECG, the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, has been the voice of the Finished Vehicle Logistics industry in Europe since 1997. ECG represents the interests of more than 200 member companies and partners, from family-owned SMEs to multi-nationals, and is the major champion of the European vehicle logistics sector.
ECG represents all transport models at EU level- road, rail, maritime and fluvial. ECG members provide transport, distribution, storage, preparation, and post-production services to manufacturers, importers, car rental companies, and vehicle leasing operators in the 27 Member States of the European Union as well as Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and beyond. They own or operate more than 470 car-carrying ships, 14,000 purpose-built railway wagons, 23 river barges, and 26,000 road transporters. As a major employer, the finished vehicle logistics sector plays an important role in contributing to the economic success of the European Union. Today, ECG members have an aggregate turnover of €21.3bn and their economic impact on companies associated with the sector is estimated at €56bn. More than 210,000 Europeans are employed directly by our members.