CITA hybrid-conference “Electric Vehicles”
In keeping with tradition, CITA organises a meeting every six months in cooperation with the Presidency-in-Office of the EU Council to discuss current road safety and environmental protection issues.
Yesterday, 21 October, CITA organised its first conference on hybrid vehicles in cooperation with the Slovenian Presidency to address the safety issues of electric vehicles, including the importance of vehicle inspection.
The new GREEN DEAL, which sets clear targets for road traffic, namely a 55% reduction in car emissions by 2030 and zero emissions for new cars by 2035, is likely to lead to considerable growth in electric vehicles in Europe. In this sense, the European Commission estimates that the electric vehicle fleet should reach 30 million vehicles by 2030.
While on the one hand, zero-emission vehicles can help meet the challenges of climate change and are very positive for road transport, on the other hand, many new risks are emerging.
During the conference, we focused our discussion on reducing the risks associated with these vehicles, and the role of vehicle inspection in ensuring whole life vehicle compliance and road safety. We had the opportunity to share our experiences with colleagues and experts and to discuss different ways to improve road safety for electric vehicles.
The main themes of the conference covered aspects of risk analysis, the cost-benefit perspective, the need for vehicle type approval standards to take into account the fact that vehicles need to be inspected during their lifetime, and the impact of battery fitness on the price of used vehicles.
We were pleased to hear from Ms Monika Pintar Mesarič, General Director, directorate of Land Transport from the Ministry of Infrastructure – Mr Philipp Troppmann, Policy & Legislative Officer with the European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) – Mr Frank Zajec, AMZS d.d. – Mr Al Markočič, METREL d.d. – Mr Arne Willerslev-Legard, Chair of the CITA Task Force Electric Vehicles – Mr Enrique Taracido Vazquez, Public Policy & External Affairs Applus+ Automotive – and Mr Ralph Schröder, Manager International Business Affairs from FSD, Germany.
“I am convinced that we have to maintain the high level of safety and environmental standards also for electric vehicles during the whole life cycle, as we do for any other vehicle. CITA will keep on pushing for modern, meaningful and impartial vehicle inspections, regardless of the type of vehicle engine“, said CITA President Gerhard Müller.