Automotive Sweden is an independent non-profit organization. We spread knowledge of the Swedish automotive industry to national and international players to encourage co-operation and stimulate growth in the automotive industry.
AUTOMOTIVE SWEDEN
NEWSLETTER
Truck & Bus World Forum in Göteborg
The fourth ever Truck & Bus World Forum was held in Göteborg on December 6-7. The conference is held on alternating years in France and Sweden and is a meeting place for everyone interested in developments in the area of road transports. This was the second time the conference was held in Göteborg.
The theme of this year's conference was "Can We Have It All?" - a theme that illuminated the significance of the transport industry for growth while simultaneously highlighting the importance of reducing negative effects. Truck & Bus World Forum brought together over 280 participants from all over Europe and a large number of speakers from around the world. The speakers represented a wide range of interests and spoke about road transports from a variety of different perspectives. The conference opened with a speech from Catharina Håkansson Boman, State Secretary for the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications. She spoke about the measures the Swedish government is taking to contribute to an effective, safe and reliable road transport system. The major European truck manufactures spoke next, led by Volvo CEO Leif Johansson, and discussed road transport issues from an industry perspective. The sector is prepared and able to do even more if they are given clear directions from the government. They also made it clear that if the government decides to enact the same sort of benchmark consumption rate policies for trucks that have been set in the private car sector, then there is a great risk that effect will not be optimal. This may lead to a greater number of smaller trucks and an increase in CO2 emissions per ton. The day concluded with a gala dinner featuring a Swedish Lucia procession and a playful performance by a comedic male choir.

Day Two began with an introduction by Bo Andersson from GAZ, who offered his opinions on how road transport developments in Asia and Russia might benefit from European and American experience. Next came suppliers - both big and small - with an overview of the contributions they could make to road transport system developments.  The Forum even took in perspectives from outside the sector. Johan Ronnestam, a young IT and communications expert, shook up the audience with a challenging and thought-provoking presentation on the theme "What would Steve Jobs at Apple do if he was manufacturing trucks?" Stefan Edman, Nicolas Sonntag and Jos Dings gave their views on how much transport the globe could sustain and the risks of various alternatives.
Several of the presentations concluded with panel discussions on related issues and questions from the moderator and audience. The moderator throughout the conference was Lars Holmqvist, CEO of CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers.

 
After the conference, Malin Norén, Business Area Manager for Automotive Sweden, commented that she was very pleased with how the conference went. "There were committed, qualified speakers who illuminated the area of road transports from a range of different perspectives, and a large and knowledgeable audience who followed and took part in the conference with great interest. The aim is to establish the Truck & Bus World Forum as an important arena for meetings and discussions about the development, possibilities and risks of road traffic and to make Göteborg the natural host of this conference every other year. I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to making this conference so successful."

dec 21 2010
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Automotive Sweden
Box 111 19
404 23 Göteborg
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