THE chief executive officer of Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, has been elected president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association for 2006.

He replaces Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman of Volkswagen Group, and takes on the role from January 1.

Marchionne said: ‘There are a number of issues facing our industry, but the real challenge is the competitiveness of the European automotive sector. We will work hard to implement the outcome of the CARS 21 initiative, which has the ambitious but necessary objective to build a competitive automotive regulatory system for the 21st century. We need to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of the European industry in our home markets if we want to be able to compete globally, to remain leaders in innovation and to contribute to both sustainable mobility and Europe’s prosperity.’