INDUSTRY NEWS
EU car sales : COVID recovery expected to start in 2021
After a year that saw the sharpest drop ever in EU car sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association ( ACEA ) forecasts that 2021 will mark a first step on the path to recovery , with sales rising by about 10 % compared to 2020 . The fallout of COVID is expected to persist into the first quarter of 2021 , but the car market should pick up in the second half of the year as vaccination programmes progress .
“ Now , more than ever , it is crucial that we work hand-in-hand with EU policy makers to strengthen the competitiveness of Europe ’ s auto industry on the global stage ,” stated ACEA ’ s new President , Oliver Zipse , who is also CEO of BMW .
“ Thanks to the global business model of European auto manufacturers and international demand for EU-made vehicles , production facilities in Europe were able to benefit from more swiftly-recovering markets last year , notably those in Asia ,” noted
Mr Zipse . “ Nevertheless , the sustainable economic recovery of the European Union and local demand is vital for our return to pre-crisis strength .”
Boosted by increasing industry investments and national support measures to stimulate demand during the COVID crisis , the market share of electrically-chargeable cars grew strongly last year , with provisional 2020 figures showing an EU-wide market share of 10.5 % ( up from 3 % in 2019 ).
With the right policy support , including a massive ramp-up of charging and refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuels across all EU member states , this positive trend can continue ,” Zipse stressed . “ Despite the economic pressures caused by the pandemic , our industry remains fully committed to its ongoing transformation to carbon neutrality .”
Decarbonisation , together with digitalisation , is also changing the nature of technologies that go into vehicles . With this in mind , ACEA is calling for a realistic European
ACEA ( European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association ) is calling on the EU to require one million public charging points across the bloc in 2024 , and three million in 2029 .
strategy on access to the supplies and raw materials which are necessary for the latest new vehicles . Indeed , recent microchip shortages illustrate how disruptive a sudden interruption of crucial supplies can be to the industry , with its complex supply chains and a just-in-time business model that is already under pressure because of Brexit .
Zipse added : “ Our sector is working hard to recover and rise to the challenges ahead . Because an EU auto industry that is strong – both at home and globally – will not only contribute to strengthening Europe ’ s economy , but also to reaching its climate ambitions .”
The EU passenger car market contracted by 23.7 % to 9.9 million units in 2020 . This represents a drop of three million units compared to 2019 . Carmakers , environmentalists and consumer groups are calling on the EU to set ambitious targets per country for the deployment of electric vehicle charging points . n
Applications open for sheet metal test bed
SMEs and companies in the sheet metal forming sector can now apply for free services to better characterise sheet metal properties , predict part performance and prevent production losses .
The FormPlanet European Open Innovation Test Bed ( OITB ) project has launched a call for SMEs and companies in the sheet metal forming sector to access services to better characterise sheet metal properties and predict the formation of defects at an early stage of design , forecast part performance and prevent production losses .
The project aims to tackle forthcoming challenges in formability and part quality assessment and support the usage of advanced high-strength materials in sheetmetal forming end-users ’ sectors , such as transport , home appliances , machinery , packaging or construction .
FormPlanet ’ s objective is to “ to ease companies ’ process of technological uptake by offering services that support all steps of the development of innovative sheet metal forming parts and products ”, explained Begoña
Casas , FormPlanet technical coordinator and researcher of the unit of Metallic and Ceramic Materials at Eurecat technology centre .
“ Companies applying will have access to novel testing techniques for advanced highperformance metals , limiting productivity losses due to forming cracks and inaccurate quality assessment that cannot be predicted in the product ’ s design stage using traditional experimental or computational approaches ,” added Casas , resulting in an increase of the usage of high-strength sheet materials for highadded value products in different applications .
The call for applications is open and will run until 31 March 2021 , offering up to 140,000 euros of financing to SMEs and companies . Applicants are able to propose a problem to
be solved with FormPlanet ’ s offering and will receive technical services , advisory support and visibility through FormPlanet project channels .
After the assessment of proposals during April 2021 , selected applicants will start their activities in May , which will last until November . Successful companies will test and validate the effectiveness of FormPlanet characterisation and modelling approaches .
The project is framed within the European Union ’ s Horizon 2020 programme , and it is backed by a European consortium formed by three research centres ( Eurecat , coordinator of the project , plus Fraunhofer IWU and COMTES FHT ); two universities ( Lulea University of Technology and the University of Pisa ); three companies ( Letomec , Ansys GRANTA and Applus + Laboratories ); eight industrial enterprises ( Centro Ricerche Fiat ( CRF ), ArcelorMittal , Arania , Estamp , Arçelik , Aludium , APT and Lamera ) and the Spanish Association for Standardisation ( UNE ).
12 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR March 2021