EU

Strasburg, 04/23/2008 -- During his visit to the European Parliament in Strasburg on 23 April 2008, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of BMW AG, presented the first series hydrogen saloon in the premium segment to the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering.

BMW Hydrogen 7: Prof. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, and Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at the hand over of the BMW Hydrogen 7 (from left)

In line with the European Parliament's efforts to take measures to reduce its own CO2 emissions, President Pöttering agreed to receive this car for institutional use for a limited trial period.

COLOGNE/ BUCHAREST, February 27, 2008 – Ford of Europe welcomes today's announcement by the European Commission that it has closed its investigation into the privatisation process of Automobile Craiova in Romania, thus clearing the way for Ford's purchase of the vehicle manufacturing facility.

The purchase of the plant will be finalised following the ratification of the special law for the privatisation of Automobile Craiova which is before the Romanian Parliament. The special law is expected to be ratified on March 4, 2008.

16.01.2008 -- The FIA welcomes the European Parliament’s new ‘CARS 21’ report on the European automotive sector as an important policy blueprint for the industry’s future. The report also recognises the leading role played by the FIA in encouraging the development and use of new environmental technologies.

The report calls upon the FIA to continue its work to promote road relevant research in motor sport and recognises the potential role of Formula One in changing attitudes and customer behaviour in bringing green technologies to market more quickly.

The European Parliament’s report refers to the FIA’s activities in the following terms:

15.01.2008 -- The EU must meet its goal of fitting Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on all new cars by 2012 and until then fiscal incentives should be offered to encourage take-up of this life saving technology, FIA President Max Mosley has warned.

In a meeting with Members of the European Parliament today in Strasbourg the FIA President called for the European Commission to honour its earlier commitment to speed up the widest availability of ESC as a standard item of equipment on all cars sold in Europe.

Studies in Europe and the USA show that ESC can reduce passenger car single-vehicle crashes by as much as 35% and yet the system is available on less than 50% of vehicles sold in Europe.

Ibuyeco Car Insurance a Green Choice for Drivers as UK Car Industry Fails to Meet Environmental Targets on Carbon Emissions

LONDON, December 18, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- UK targets for CO2 reduction, set for 2008 by the EU in 1998 will not be met. Ibuyeco car insurance, one of the first schemes of its kind in this country means consumers no longer need rely on the car industry to tackle the issue by allowing drivers to use their own initiative and make a practical contribution to help tackle global climate change through carbon offsetting.

- Closing of transaction expected for beginning of December 2007
- Wennemer: Biggest step in corporate history
- Company has prepared integration to commence immediately after the closing

Hanover, November 29, 2007 -- Continental AG has received the EU Commission’s approval for the acquisition of Siemens VDO Automotive AG without conditions. Antitrust authority approval had already been issued by the national offices responsible. This enables Conti­nental to close the transaction in the beginning of December and transfer the purchase amount, €11.4 billion including tax benefits of around €1 billion, to Siemens AG. The integra­tion of Siemens VDO into the Continental Corporation will begin immediately after closing.

Audi applies the maxim of Vorsprung durch Technik equally to the protection of the environment

Nov 26, 2007 -- AUDI AG is the first and to date only major car manufacturer that already meets the tough "EU Directive 2005/64/EC on the type approval of motor vehicles with regard to their reusability, recyclability and recoverability" with its current model range.

This directive does not take effect until mid-2010 for all new vehicles. From then, new vehicles must be at least 85 percent recyclable and be up to 95 percent recoverable. The figure of 85 percent refers to the degree to which the recycled materials are returned to the production process. A further 10 percent of the vehicle is used for energy generation.

Objectives: Reduction in the number of traffic fatalities and casualties with implementation of intelligent technology and new projects

Hanover/Brussels, November 26, 2007. Continental AG, the international automotive com­ponents supplier, today signed the European Road Safety Charter. The goal of the Charter is to halve the number of fatalities on the roads of the European Union (EU) by the year 2010, in other words, a reduction to 25,000 from 50,000 in 2004. With the signatures of Continen­tal’s board executive Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin and the European Commission Vice Presi­dent, Jacques Barrot, under the Charter, Continental AG commits itself to supporting this initiative.

Continental advocates consumer-friendly and all-inclusive labeling

Hanover, November 12, 2007 -- By means of various regulations, the EU intends to reduce both CO2 emissions and noise pollution from road traffic in the future. Also under discussion in this regard is an “environmental label" aimed at informing consumers about tire rolling re­sistance.

Planned EU Requirements for Tires Would Reduce Road Traffic Safety: Continental advocates consumer-friendly and all-inclusive labeling.

2007-11-06, Warsaw -- The first Chevrolet built in the European Union rolled off the assembly line of the FSO (Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych) plant in Warsaw, Poland, today. The small four-door Aveo sedan will be joined by two new hatchback variants in summer 2008. As production increases to approximately 60,000 next year and 100,000 in 2009, the Aveo made-in-Poland will help meet strong demand across Europe. With sales up 32 percent compared to a year ago, Chevrolet is the fastest growing volume brand in Europe.

Higlights include:
# First Chevrolet built in the European Union
# Warsaw FSO plant to assemble Chevrolet Aveo sedan plus new three and five-door hatchbacks
# Capacity to increase to over 100,000 for sale in EU and CIS by 2009