Speaking at the annual event, Leif Johansson, chairman of the ACEA commercial vehicle board and president & CEO of Volvo Group, stated: 'The European commercial vehicle manufacturers are technology leaders and a driving force in the transition to sustainable mobility and transportation.'

Mr Johansson called on the EU policy makers to ensure an integrated and supportive industrial policy, while seeking optimal synergy with the Community's transport, energy and trade policies. He also urged the EU to actively promote the global harmonisation of technical standards and measurement methods, to help industry benefit from economies of scale.

He added that the commercial vehicle industry is seeking to work with policy makers to develop feasible policy measures to further reduce CO2 emissions from road (freight) transport.

'Our industry operates globally and CO2 emissions are also a global challenge,' said Mr Johansson. 'With ACEA, we are developing an evaluation tool to calculate real-life CO2 emissions from trucks and buses ahead of purchase. Our initiative marks an important step in realising the commercial vehicle industry's "Vision 2020", announced back in 2008, pledging to further reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020.'

The ACEA added that its CO2 evaluation tool will help customers to choose the most fuel-efficient vehicle specification, involving issues such as engine-gearbox combination, aerodynamic features and tyre specification. The tool will also serve to provide stakeholders-at-large with essential insight in the complexity and variety of road transport.