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 CO2 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.
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 the United States,
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.
Sergio Marchionne
CEO
Fiat Group
Chrysler Group