[ccebook.cn]The World in 2010

Business
Rethinking the car industry
Nov 13th 2009
A green revolution for cars requires bold moves by politicians as well as the industry, suggests
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group and Chrysler Group
The car industry has been suffering the effects of the global economic
crisis more than most. So profoundly, in fact, that it is being compelled to
rethink its business model completely. Every crisis makes us discard our
traditional way of looking at things. This one is forcing us in this direction
but with the added complexity, long overdue, of environmentally focused
solutions.
As far as the product is concerned, the innovation required in a period of
crisis is not to invent something different. Rather, it is to adopt a different
approach, to cease viewing the automobile as a stand-alone object and
begin seeing it as a component in a much larger system. The industry has
already been developing more fuel-efficient engines and other solutions
which are more respectful of the environment. Fiat Group has embraced
this path, with the lowest average CO 2 emission levels among the top
brands in Europe. However, to make a true leap, we have to see this as a
common challenge for the whole industry and for politicians.
Natural gas provides an eloquent illustration. Today, it is the only real,
immediate alternative to petrol. It is the most eco-friendly fuel available in
nature, the cheapest for customers—costing 30% less than diesel and half
the price of gasoline. Yet in Europe use of natural-gas vehicles is derisory.
One weak link in the chain can negate many of the advantages that innovation offers.
Marchionne
Three key factors will enable our industry to make the necessary changes: investment, creativity and courage.
Even then, the pursuit of new technologies is not without risk.
Take hydrogen, for example. For many years, it was presented as a panacea to environmental problems. Our
industry was accused of not putting enough effort into developing these alternative engines. Maybe in the
future—in my view, the distant future—we will all travel using hydrogen power. But until we find a sustainable
solution to stockpiling the fuel, it will remain an illusion: we will merely be shifting the problem elsewhere. It
may provide us with super-clean cars, but we would also have enormous quantities of energy and polluting
emissions, linked to producing the hydrogen itself, on our conscience.
Even with electric propulsion systems, certainly one of the most promising technologies, a distinction needs to
be made. For those countries which depend heavily on electric energy that is imported or produced from oil,
mass use of electric vehicles is not necessarily advantageous for the system as a whole. A courageous action
would be to seize the opportunity to base our entire system on the development of renewable energy.
I believe that, even in the automotive field, public authorities can play an important role in building the
future. In America, President Barack Obama formed an industry-focused task force whose mission is to
transform the crisis into an opportunity. The aim is to influence an entire industry and the habits of
consumers, while providing safeguards for the industry and promoting the shared objective of reduced
emissions and fuel consumption.
American vision v European division
In Europe, too, many governments have given support to the sector, each in its own way. This has taken the
form of incentives to stimulate demand, channelling it towards more eco-friendly alternatives, as well as direct
financial support for domestic producers.
The objective, for both America and Europe, seems the same: to revitalise vital industries. But there is a real
possibility that the results will be drastically different.
The American plan focuses on overcoming problems that have afflicted the automotive industry for years and
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