Europe’s auto industry chief calls for global fuel standards

Japanese automakers should join forces with European peers to develop globally harmonized fuel efficiency standards, a European auto industry chief said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. There is “no doubt” a common fuel efficiency testing procedure “will be of help and assistance” to increasingly eco-conscious customers, said Ivan Hodac, secretary-general of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association or ACEA. Efforts are currently being made in Geneva to create such standards under a U.N. arm called the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations. At present, Japan, Europe and the United States set their own test cycles to measure the fuel efficiency of vehicles. Hodac forecast that the discussions in Geneva will reach an agreement around 2015-2016, but he said that “for the application, it can be much, much longer.” (March 1, 2010)