Press Release: R&D Scoreboard: Despite crisis, top EU firms continue to invest in innovation

In the face of the continuing economic and financial crisis, major EU-based firms continue to rely on R&D for their competitive edge. They increased R&D investment by 8.9% in 2011, up from 6.1% in 2010. The increase nearly matches US firms (9%), beats the global average (7.6%) and is far ahead of Japanese companies (1.7%).

R&D-intensive sectors tended to show above average employment growth. These are key findings of the European Commission's 2012 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" of the top 1500 global R&D investors. The global top 50 includes 15 EU companies, 18 US firms and 12 from Japan. Japanese car manufacturer Toyota tops the ranking, with Volkswagen the top EU company in third place (€7.2 billion invested).

Recently released Eurostat data shows that combined EU public and private research spending increased to 2.03% of GDP in 2011, from 2.01% in 2010. This was mainly due to increased private sector spending.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Memo/12/948: EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 2012 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-948_en.htm

European Commission: Speech/12/920: Máire GEOGHEGAN-QUINN: EU R&D Industrial Scoreboard http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-12-920_en.htm

Ireland: Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: News, 06.12.13: Ireland ranks in top 10 EU countries for R&D investment - EU Commission http://www.enterprise.gov.ie/News/2012/December/Ireland-ranks-in-top-10-EU-countries-for-R-D-investment-EU-Commission.html

---