EU talks to relaunch Europe's embattled car industry are to get underway on Thursday, with automotive CEOs awaited in Brussels to discuss fines and competition from China.

The European Union is under pressure to help a sector that employs 13 million people and accounts for about seven percent of the bloc's GDP, as it seeks to revamp the continent's lagging competitiveness.

Chaired by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, the so-called "strategic dialogue" will bring together carmakers, suppliers, civil society groups and others.

"The EU Commission recognises the urgency and severity of the situation, and the need for decisive action," the EU's executive body said in a note.

The get-together comes as the commission is in the midst of a pro-business shift, with firms complaining that its recent focus on climate and business ethics resulted in excessive regulations.

On Wednesday, it unveiled a blueprint to revamp the bloc's economic model, amid worries that low productivity, high energy prices, weak investments and other ills are leaving the EU behind the United States and China.

The car industry in particular has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering........

© International Business Times