ACEA Commercial vehicle Board welcomes new Chair Karin Rådström as sector enters critical phase of transition

Brussels 15 December 2025 - The Commercial vehicle Board of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) elected Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck, as the new Chair of its Commercial Vehicle Board. She succeeds Christian Levin, CEO of Scania and TRATON group.

The leadership transition comes at a decisive moment for Europe's heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) industry. With the European Commission set to unveil its Automotive Package tomorrow, manufacturers stress the need for coherent, realistic policies that support Europe's competitiveness and accelerate the commercial transport sector's climate neutrality transition.

Speaking upon her appointment, Karin Rådström emphasised this package as a crucial opportunity for Europe to take a more coherent and pragmatic approach to the HDV sector's transformation: "It's a privilege and honour to take over as Chair of ACEA's Commercial Vehicle Board at such a crucial time for our industry. Trucks and buses keep Europe moving - they are the backbone of logistics and public transport. With many of the world's leading truck and bus manufacturers based here in Europe, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to lead," she said.

"Yet, there are challenges that put our industry's competitiveness at risk. We fully support the EU's goal to decarbonise transport - and with dozens different zero-emission truck and bus models in series production, our industry is delivering. But substantial market uptake will only happen when our customers can operate zero-emission vehicles as seamlessly and profitably as conventional vehicles today".

"That's why we need an accelerated review of the heavy-duty vehicle CO2 legislation no later than mid-2026. The Commission must take urgent action now to prevent manufacturers from having to pay penalties while the essential enabling conditions are simply not in place. The obligations for manufacturers must be aligned with the development of charging and hydrogen infrastructure networks and policy measures that support robust business cases for our customers, like CO2-based road charges in all Member States".

"2026 has to be the year Europe turns challenges into real progress, delivering pragmatic solutions that protect competitiveness while driving decarbonisation. Europe must quickly become our strong home market for zero-emission technologies. Both the Commission and Member States must urgently streamline and simplify the regulation framework and accelerate the demand for zero-emission vehicles. That is what I will focus on in my tenure at ACEA," Rådström concluded

Reflecting on his mandate, a year in which the European HDV industry delivered major strides in zero-emission technologies despite continuing structural challenges, outgoing Chair Christian Levin underscored the urgency of aligning ambitions with enabling conditions.

"2025 was a pivotal year for Europe's commercial vehicle sector, characterised by technological progress and mounting pressure. As manufacturers, we are delivering new generations of zero-emission vehicles across Europe. To be clear: the technology is ready, but the ecosystem is not", he said.

"Looking ahead to 2026, we will continue to build a strong commitment and high ambitions of Europe's truck and bus manufacturers. We are united in our advocacy for supportive European regulations that will accelerate the transition to a competitive market. As I hand over to Karin, I am confident that this unity and determination will continue to steer our industry in 2026 and beyond".

Vehicle manufacturers have less than five years left for a tenfold jump from 3.8% (Q1 - Q3 2025) to at least 35% market share of zero-emission vehicles needed to meet the 2030 CO2 reduction target. But the success of the climate neutrality transition does not depend on vehicle manufacturers alone. Without urgent and targeted action from Member States and the European Commission, manufacturers are at risk of incurring excessive non-compliance penalties for circumstances beyond their control.

The EU must now turn commitment into concrete action, ensuring that infrastructure, regulation and business conditions finally advance in step with manufacturers' efforts.

Notes for editors

For the HDV industry to remain competitive and not face the undue burden of disproportionate non-compliance penalties, ACEA is asking for:

• An accelerated review of the HDV CO2 regulation for vehicle manufacturers that better recognizes the interdependencies in the transport and logistics industry. This cannot wait until 2027.
• An urgent assessment and regular monitoring of the state of the most critical enabling conditions for the climate neutrality transition of heavy-duty road transport.
• A short-term action to prevent non-compliance penalties caused by factors beyond manufacturers' control, protecting the industry's global competitiveness while safeguarding the achievability of the decarbonisation targets. Imposing unjustified penalties would not only undermine European manufacturers' global competitiveness but also jeopardise their investments in critical future technologies (eg autonomous driving and digitalisation).
• A much deeper simplification agenda to defend its competitiveness. These must go beyond the scope of omnibus bills. More substantial simplification measures must address, for example a 5-year postponement of the implementation of Euro 7, which requires the development of new technologies and measurement methods for emissions, brake particles, tyre abrasion and battery durability, many of which are not yet available. Implementation of these measures is further complicated by delays in preparing the necessary Implementing Acts, leaving critical technical details unresolved, which creates uncertainty for OEMs.

About ACEA

• The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
• Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on https://www.x.com/ACEA_auto or https://www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/

Contact:

• Camille Lamarque, Policy Communications Officer, [email protected], +32 (0) 2 738 73 16

About the EU automobile industry

• 13.6 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
• 8.1% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
• €414.7 billion in tax revenue for European governments
• €93.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
• Over 8% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
• €84.6 billion in R&D spending annually, 34% of EU total