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The new aspects of globalization, with particular regard to the impact of the current crisis, to the resurgence of protectionism and to the competitiveness of the European market in the global scenario. So Paolo Monferino, Iveco’s CEO, has addressed the issues of globalization by participating in the conference "Riding to the Future" which was held today at the Unione Industriale di Torino.
The congress, now in its fourth edition, sponsored by Iveco and organized by the ATA (Associazione Tecnica dell’Automobile), in collaboration with AMMA and the Torino Chamber of Commerce, is an observatory qualified to provide guidance for understanding what is happening in the automotive world.
Paolo Monferino, after having explained how the weight of the activities of Iveco Latin America and particularly in China has soared in recent years, noted that today there are still barriers to the globalization of products, with differences in costs, technical specifications and quality. It is also likely, continued Monferino, that the technical barriers will be progressively overcome, with an alignment process in production centres in different areas of the world, even though this process will still require several years. Even slower is the process of relaxation of the barriers to commercial activities and protection of local industrial concerns.
What will be the future development of globalization in a time when we talk of a possible trend reversal, with relocation of production in smaller regional areas?
"The real reason that we do not believe in a de-globalization in our field - said Monferino - is that the benefits of economies of scale, bringing on common platforms for the same products in different regions of the world will be a key competitive factor of our future. "
The CEO of Iveco then continued by highlighting the situation at the beginning of this crisis where various government initiatives were put in place that, with the goal of safeguarding local and national interests, have introduced distortions in the market and distorted the rules of free competition.
Focusing the analysis on Europe, Monferino said that the European Union's recent regulatory efforts has particularly concerned policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the field of motor vehicles.
"We recognize the importance of decisively addressing this issue and the need to do our part - concluded Monferino – also because the Fiat Group has an internationally recognized leadership in this field. But what we are asking for is not to be penalised by measures that take no account of reality. As, I regret to say, seems the case with the recent regulations adopted by the European Commission on CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles.
Iveco
Iveco designs, manufactures, and markets a broad range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, city and intercity buses and coaches as well as special vehicles for applications such as fire fighting, off-road missions, defence and civil protection.
Iveco employs over 27,000 people and runs 27 production units in 16 Countries in the world using excellent technologies developed in 6 research centres. Besides Europe, the company operates in China, Russia, Australia and Latin America. More than 6,000 service outlets in over 100 Countries guarantee technical support wherever in the world an Iveco vehicle is at work.

Torino, 10th November 2009