Research, technology development and market trends for the European transport manufacturing industries

Proposals should address the following aspects:

―Analyse the investment trends, productivity levels, technology choices and options, industrial strategies, research and technology development capabilities and funding efforts of the European producers of transport means, including manufacturers of vehicles, equipment, components and systems, in the automotive, aeronautical, ship-building and rail vehicle industries.

―Assess the competitive advantages and disadvantages of those industries in relation to their main competitors world-wide, including new players from other areas who are active in new fields like automation; project their global market share prospects and predictable employment level scenarios.

―Analyse the economic potential of new technologies, products and markets and their role in the determination of the industrial and commercial strategies of the major players; and assess the success factors of those strategies.

―Consider the incidence of legislation and regulation at national and supranational level on industrial practices, innovation potential and global competitiveness.

The expected duration of actions is between 12 and18 months.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 0.5 and 1.5 million each would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

European transport manufacturing industries across different sectors are well positioned in the global market. However, they are faced with new challenges stemming from the need to move to smart, green and sustainable transport technologies and systems within a relatively short period of time, as well as from the changing mobility demand, increasing international competition and the appearance of new players (for example, in the area of automation, data analytics, etc.). The challenge is to provide an overview of research, technology development and innovation capacities and strategies of the European transport manufacturing industries, and identify present and emerging market trends at a global scale, making use of diverse data and information sources.

―The work is expected to provide a comprehensive picture of the research and technology development capabilities, innovation challenges and market prospects of the European transport industries, taking into account the heterogeneous nature and future demand of the transport sector.

― Proposals are expected to demonstrate how the knowledge produced will enable stakeholders and policy makers to identify possible gaps in the research, technology development and innovation capacities and strategies of the European transport industry, particularly with regard to emerging market prospects, and elaborate appropriate measures at a corporate and policy level.