Plastic Omnium said it was up to the UK government what sort of Brexit the country eventually decided to adopt, noting the British people’s ‘sovereignty’ concerning the contentious withdrawal from the European Union (EU).
There are just six months before the UK leaves the Brussels club of 27 nations but huge uncertainty continues to cloud the horizon as to what sort of deal, if any, Britain secures from its European neighbours.
In particular, business concerns have been raised should the UK crash out of the EU with a no-deal scenario affecting sensitive, just in time supply chains, while road haulage organisations have expressed deep unease as to whether the imposition of new customs arrangements will see queues of lorries at the Port of Dover.
“The UK population is sovereign – they have taken a decision,” Plastic Omnium told just-auto on the sidelines of the 2018 Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris where Brexit was a much discussed topic.
“It is up to you [Britain] how you do that. You can’t push the French government, you have to push the UK government. The ball is in your court.”
Plastic Omnium was showcasing a range of technologies at the Paris show, including clean mobility solutions to achieve ambitious CO2 targets set by the European Commission – and which could become yet stricter – through weight reduction, active and passive aerodynamic optimisation solutions and electronically managed tanks for plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The supplier is also aiming in the longer term for decarbonised mobility using fuel cells and allowing up 800km (500 miles) autonomy with zero emissions.
Also being highlighted in Paris was Plastic Omnium’s use of 50 components incorporated into bumpers to increase perception, as well as materials whose physical properties make them permeable to waves from embedded equipment for autonomous driving (radars and lidars].
Plastic Omnium has 31,000 employees in 122 plants in 26 countries. It also has 3,500 engineers working in 24 R&D centres.
The group ploughs 6.4% of its revenue into R&D and is investing in the construction or extension to three R&D centres in France, Belgium and China.
