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News from ECG
High oil prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have forced the Finished Vehicles Logistics industry to find alternative global routes. Hopes for a quick recovery have faded, and economic growth projections are down. “We see a big shift in the landscape; we must adapt to keep our supply chain resilient and competitive,” said Mark Hindley, newly elected President of ECG.
ECG - The Association of European Vehicle Logistics hosted its General Assembly & Spring Congress 4-5 June 2026 in Istanbul, Türkiye.
This year, predicting the future has become nearly impossible. Justin Cox, Director of Global Production at LMC Automotive, focused on Europe: “Things are only getting more complex as we move forward.” He noted that after recent global crises, US tariffs and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz further dampened hopes for a calm recovery. “The industry is moving into 2026 hoping for stability,” said Cox, “but events in the Middle East show that recovery will be far from smooth.”
Cox predicted oil prices may normalize, and trade could resume through the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict ends within six months. Economic growth expectations have dropped, and the industry cut 2 million units from its 2026 forecast, down to 91.5 million.
Cengiz Eroldu, Chairman of the Automotive Manufacturers Association of Türkiye (OSD) and CEO of Tofaş, highlighted Türkiye’s 2.2-million-unit production capacity for 19 global brands, representing 18% of Türkiye’s total exports. He called Türkiye a reliable partner for the US and Europe and criticized the EU’s draft Industrial Accelerator Act for its ‘unacceptable’ definition of union origin.
Namrita Chow, ECG Business Analyst, explained how new ports and routes are affecting delivery times to Europe due to the Strait of Hormuz conflict, setting the stage for a panel debate led by Prof. Dr Fridtjof Langenhan, Dean of the ECG Academy.
Nearly 300 industry participants identified market volatility, shifting trade flows, and AI as top challenges for the FVL industry over the next three years.
The panel featured Jean-François Bock (Toyota Motor Europe) and Tolga Oran (Stellantis), alongside ECG President Mark Hindley (BCA Automotive), ECG Vice-President Marcos Duato (Suardiaz Shipping Lines) and Andreas Sundl (Hödlmayr International), Chair of the ECG Rail Steering Group.
Regarding port congestion, Marcos Duato explained that growing imports from China are changing traditional traffic flows in European ports. Larger vessel calls and rising import volumes are putting pressure on terminal capacity, leading to congestion in some locations and increasing the need for alternative ports and additional storage space.
Andreas Sundl explained that the impact of current disruptions is first felt at ports, but argued that rail will increasingly become part of the solution, offering advantages in terms of capacity, sustainability and reliability. Tolga Oran agreed, noting that Stellantis already uses rail wherever possible and that further growth will depend on the continued improvement of rail infrastructure and service reliability.
Discussing collaboration between LSPs and OEMs, Jean-François Bock highlighted that they don´t use the term ‘logistics providers’, but ‘logistics partners’, to emphasise the long-term nature of these partnerships. Jean-François Bock: “I think the blueprint for success is about long-term understanding, shared values, having a joint vision which we both as companies and customers share. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that the customer buying the vehicle is fully satisfied because everything is delivered on time and to the right quality.”
FVL companies see AI as both a challenge and a necessity for future survival. Tolga Oran called for better data reliability and visibility. “We operate around 1,000 trucks of our own fleet of Stellantis in Europe, and we are exploring the use of AI-enabled robotics, particularly in the quality and claims process, meaning that vehicles will be scanned by drones and the information automatically transferred into the system”, Tolga Oran said, adding that Stellantis has many ongoing projects regarding AI, with a committee meeting every month, taking all the ideas coming from the employees for validation.
Bock noted AI is still early-stage, aiding with tasks like invoicing, but effective forecasting relies on high-quality data. He sees major opportunities for AI in optimizing logistics.
The AI discussion concluded with a simple question: which logistics decisions should never be left entirely to AI, regardless of how advanced the technology becomes? One answer stood out: contract negotiation.
On 23-24 June, ECG is hosting the AI Day in Karlsruhe, Germany, to continue the discussion of AI with existing use cases and much more.
During the General Assembly, the ECG members elected Mark Hindley as the new President, following the former President, Wolfgang Göbel, who stepped down after serving 24 years on the board. Marcos Duato was elected the new Vice President.
The event was hosted at the magnificent Çırağan Palace, with the support of our generous sponsors: Kalepar, United Global Ro-Ro, Mep-Par, ANT, INFORM, SOFT, e4cars, and, not least, ProAct, who sponsored Course #19 of the ECG Academy, celebrating its graduation.
Read here the Press Release