The automotive industry, an important source of economic prosperity, employment and innovation in the EU, is undergoing a major transformation as a result of market trends, international competition, technological innovation and regulatory changes. This transformation creates new opportunities but, at the same time, represents major challenges for the industry, its employees and the territories in which the sector operates.

Download introductory presentation on the project

To monitor these developments in the industry and to exchange know-how on managing restructuring in a socially responsible way, a 12-month project "Anticipation of Change in the Automotive Industry" was launched in November 2008 as a follow-up of the European Partnership previously formed by the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF).

The main objective of the project is to investigate, in accordance with known automotive trends for 2020, good practices in anticipation of change at both company and regional level; staff management strategies for increasing the skills level and the employability of the workers; automotive regions and clusters. The results of the three studies undertaken in the project will be widely disseminated through various ad-hoc workshops during 2009. It is noted that this should be an excellent opportunity to intervene creatively in the sector to help build an informal, future orientated observatory to capture the sector’s early warning systems, interpret the impact of critical drivers and help facilitate strategic change and direction, while easing the social impact.

Project Partners

The project partners, CLEPA and EMF, will benefit from the expertise of the University of St Andrews (UK), the WZB in Berlin (DE), and Groupe Alpha in Paris (FR) for scenario planning, interview-based case studies, inquiring for skills needs and demonstration of successful interactions to promote innovation between regional, political, economic, and social partners.

The project partners expect the various activities planned throughout this year to help improve the industry’s capacity to not only react to external impetuses, but also have a proactive approach permitting to ease social impact of macroeconomic disturbances and technological change.

The current economic crisis in the sector will hopefully be the occasion for all actors and the social partners to take advantage of the outcomes from the project activities, so that its consequences are being alleviated, both for the industry and for the workers active in the sector, and on the long run to keep and create sustainable employment.

Further Information

For more information, please contact Ms Maria Daniela Lenzu
or visit the project website.