Brussels, the 17th of June 2021 – Today, at the occasion of the association’s General Assembly, FIGIEFA Members elected a new President as well as new Board Members.
Cor Baltus, 57, Board Member of the Netherlands’ association RAI Aftermarket, was elected President of FIGIEFA for a first term. A Board Member of FIGIEFA since 2015, Cor Baltus has a longstanding experience of more than 35 years in the automotive sector and serves currently as Managing Director for Alliance Automotive Group in the Benelux. He replaces Hartmut Röhl, from the Germany’s association GVA, who had been President from 2012 (and previously from 2002 to 2006). FIGIEFA Members praised Hartmut Röhl for his lifelong dedication to FIGIEFA and the independent aftermarket, which has resulted in a number of positive legislative developments enabling the sector to thrive, and awarded him with the Honorary Presidency of the association.
FIGIEFA Members also elected:
• Walter Birner, President of the Austrian association VFT, and a FIGIEFA Board Member since 2018, as Vice-President;
• Lawrence Bleasdale, from the Boards of the British associations IAAF and SMMT, as Treasurer;
• Joaquim Candeias, Member of the Board of the Portuguese association ACAP and Chair of its Aftermarket section, as Board Member, for a third mandate;
• Mads Engberg, Director General of the Danish association AUTIG, as Board Member;
• Bastian Müller, from the Board of the German association GVA, as Board Member;
• Mathieu Séguran, Director General of the French association FEDA, as Board Member, for a second mandate;
• Anıl Yücetürk, Vice-President of the Turkish association OSS, as Board Member.
Cor Baltus said: “I am very humbled by the vote of FIGIEFA Members and pleased to take over the legacy left to us by Hartmut Röhl. I intend for FIGIEFA to remain fit for future challenges and to continue to promote the political and regulatory interest of its Members. We are at a turning point for our sector and I am confident that FIGIEFA as a European association is more than ever key in enabling our companies to continue to grow and innovate”.
At the occasion of this General Assembly, FIGIEFA reaffirmed its commitment to ensure that European and international legislations take into account the interests and the specificities of the independent automotive aftermarket, especially as we embrace simultaneously an unprecedented number of business and technology changes. Access to in-vehicle technical data, cybersecurity of connected vehicle, trade of spare parts, are essential issues that will continue to be addressed to enforce competition and consumer’s choice.