The Automotive Industry and the Environment: A Technical, Business and Social Future (Woodhead Publishing in Environmental Management)

The future of car manufacturing may be very different to the current practice of large scale, large assembly plant construction methods based on economies of scale and marketing new vehicles with offering ever increasing complexity and value-added options. A sustainable future is envisaged in this ground-breaking study which concentrates on the recent research into alternative production methods with an emphasis on life-cycle management, recyclability and manufacture tailored to customer's individual specifications. Contents......Page 4 C......Page 9 H......Page 11 L......Page 12 N......Page 13 S......Page 14 U......Page 15 Z......Page 16 1.1 Background......Page 18 1.2 Change and complexity – can business really afford to keep things simple?......Page 19 1.3 Identifying the problem......Page 21 1.4 Roots of the problem......Page 23 1.5 The CO[sub(2)] issue – agenda for change......Page 30 1.6 References......Page 31 2.1 The automotive industry: a profile......Page 32 2.2 The vehicle manufacturers......Page 33 2.3 Material and component suppliers......Page 39 2.4 Distribution and retailing......Page 42 2.5 Financial performance, structure and the future......Page 45 2.6 The direction of the industry: the case of Ford......Page 46 2.8 References......Page 49 3.1 Introduction......Page 51 3.2 The structure of production and markets......Page 52 3.3 Fragmentation......Page 54 3.4 Brands and the market for alternative technology vehicles......Page 58 3.5 Environment, technology and the creation of new market segments: the example of the TH!NK @bout London project......Page 62 3.7 References......Page 65 4.1 Background......Page 67 4.3 Selling the package: a wider view of costs......Page 68 4.4 The car industry responds to the new agenda......Page 72 4.5 Corporate social and environmental responsibility......Page 75 4.7 References......Page 77 5.1 Introduction: the question of sector shift......Page 79 5.2 Futures and multi-discipline thinking......Page 81 5.3 Sustainability and multi-discipline thinking......Page 83 5.4 Management science, business strategy and the cult of the guru......Page 84 5.5 The automotive industry: an illustration......Page 85 5.6 Micro factory retailing: a futures studies vision of the automotive industry......Page 86 5.8 References......Page 87 6.1 How petrol and diesel came to rule the world......Page 90 6.2 The gaseous alternative......Page 92 6.3 Liquefied petroleum gas vs. compressed natural gas......Page 95 6.4 Dimethyl Ether (DME) and biodiesel: diesel's future?......Page 96 6.5 Whatever happened to the electric car?......Page 99 6.6 The Air Car – a green car at last?......Page 101 6.7 References......Page 103 7.1 The car industry goes for the hard cell......Page 104 7.2 The role of Ballard......Page 106 7.3 Fuelling the cell......Page 107 7.4 AUTOnomy – reinventing the chassis to fit the cell......Page 111 7.5 A future for the cell?......Page 114 7.6 References......Page 115 8.1 Introduction and background......Page 117 8.2 History......Page 118 8.3 Budd and Ford......Page 123 8.5 Monocoque construction......Page 124 8.6 Buddism fraying at the edges......Page 127 8.7 Steel fights back......Page 128 8.8 References......Page 131 9.1 Introduction......Page 133 9.2 Alternative approaches to car production......Page 134 9.3 Sports cars: niche vs. mainstream vehicle manufacturers......Page 138 9.4 Examples of low volume car production......Page 141 9.5 Conclusions......Page 144 9.6 References......Page 145 10.1 The sustainability concept......Page 146 10.2 An ethical and spiritual dimension......Page 151 10.3 Nature and the closed-loop economy......Page 154 10.4 References......Page 156 11.1 Making cars sustainable: a blueprint......Page 158 11.2 Product durability and scrappage incentives......Page 160 11.3 New product niches......Page 165 11.4 Closed-loop recycling......Page 169 11.5 References......Page 171 12.2 Alternative approaches to evaluating the environmental burden of cars......Page 173 12.3 Official and unofficial vehicle emissions and fuel economy guides......Page 177 12.4 The Volvo environmental product declaration (EPD)......Page 179 12.5 Vehicle assembly plant rating systems......Page 180 12.6 Car environmental rating systems......Page 181 12.8 References......Page 189 13.1 Introduction......Page 191 13.2 A sustainable world: the context for automobility 2050......Page 193 13.3 Automobility 2050: making cars......Page 196 13.4 Automobility 2050: the car itself......Page 197 13.5 Automobility 2050: cars in use......Page 198 13.6 Conclusions: a vision of the future......Page 199 13.7 References......Page 203 14.1 Introduction......Page 205 14.2 Centralisation, economies of scale and globalisation......Page 206 14.3 The distributed economy: an outline of basic ideas......Page 210 14.4 The significance of scale and production......Page 211 14.6 References......Page 212 15.1 Introduction......Page 214 15.2 Alternative 1: the traditional assembly plant......Page 215 15.3 Alternative 2: the modular assembly plant......Page 217 15.4 Alternative 3: the global production network......Page 218 15.5 Alternative 4: the eco-park......Page 222 15.6 Alternative 5: decentralised manufacturing......Page 223 15.7 Different shapes to the automotive industry......Page 224 15.9 References......Page 228 16 The roadmap......Page 229 16.1 Roadmaps......Page 230 16.2 The sustainable automobility roadmap: basic principles......Page 232 16.3 The Bellagio Principles – a known agenda......Page 237 16.4 The mechanics of change......Page 239 16.5 Strategic niche management (SNM)......Page 241 16.7 References......Page 242 17.1 Introduction......Page 244 17.2 Micro factory retailing: a delineation of the basic idea......Page 245 17.3 Barriers and opportunities for micro factory retailing......Page 249 17.4 Case study: the Air Car......Page 250 17.5 Conclusions......Page 252 17.6 References......Page 253 18.1 Summary......Page 254 18.2 Our future......Page 256 18.3 The UK – a special case?......Page 258 18.4 Conclusions......Page 260 18.5 References......Page 261 A......Page 262 C......Page 263 D......Page 264 F......Page 265 H......Page 266 L......Page 267 N......Page 268 S......Page 269 U......Page 271 Z......Page 272 The automotive industry currently faces huge challenges. The fundamental technological paradigm it relies on, volume production, has become progressively more unprofitable in the face of increasingly segmented niche markets. At the same time it faces increasing regulatory and social pressures to improve both the sustainability of its products and methods of production. Building on a wealth of research, The automotive industry and the environment addresses those challenges and how they can be met in producing a sustainable and profitable industry for the future.

The authors first discuss the development of the automotive industry and the problems it currently faces. They then consider the solutions the industry can adopt. The book reviews trends in more environmentally-friendly technologies such as the use of more sustainable fuel sources and new types of modular design with built-in recyclability. However, these technologies can only be fully exploited if methods of manufacture change. The book also describes models of decentralised production, particularly the micro factory retailing (MFR) model, which provide an alternative to volume production and promise to be both more sustainable and more profitable.

The automotive industry and the environment provides both a cogent diagnosis of the environmental and other problems facing the industry and a blueprint for a better future. It will be widely welcomed by the industry, policy makers and all those concerned with sustainable transport.

• Addresses the challenges facing the automotive industry, from the increasing unprofitability of volume production to regulatory and social pressures to improve environmental and product sustainability
• Examines how the automotive industry can meet the current challenges in producing a sustainable and profitable industry for the future
• Reviews trends in more environmentally-friendly technologies such as the use of more sustainable fuel sources and new types of modular design with built-in recyclability

The automotive industry currently faces huge challenges. The fundamental technological paradigm it relies on, volume production, has become progressively more unprofitable in the face of increasingly segmented niche markets. At the same time it faces increasing regulatory and social pressures to improve both the sustainability of its products and methods of production. Building on a wealth of research, The automotive industry and the environment addresses those challenges and how they can be met in producing a sustainable and profitable industry for the future. The authors first discuss the development of the automotive industry and the problems it currently faces. They then consider the solutions the industry can adopt. The book reviews trends in more environmentally-friendly technologies such as the use of more sustainable fuel sources and new types of modular design with built-in recyclability. However, these technologies can only be fully exploited if methods of manufacture change. The book also describes models of decentralised production, particularly the micro factory retailing (MFR) model, which provide an alternative to volume production and promise to be both more sustainable and more profitable. The automotive industry and the environment provides both a cogent diagnosis of the environmental and other problems facing the industry and a blueprint for a better future. It will be widely welcomed by the industry, policy makers and all those concerned with sustainable transport. Addresses the challenges facing the automotive industry, from the increasing unprofitability of volume production to regulatory and social pressures to improve environmental and product sustainability Examines how the automotive industry can meet the current challenges in producing a sustainable and profitable industry for the future Reviews trends in more environmentally-friendly technologies such as the use of more sustainable fuel sources and new types of modular design with built-in recyclability

Building on a wealth of research, The Automotive Industry and the Environment addresses current challenges in the automotive industry and how they can be met. The authors discuss the development of the automotive industry and the problems it currently faces and consider possible solutions. The book reviews trends in more environmental-friendly technologies, such as the use of more sustainable fuel sources and new types of modular designs with built-in recyclability. The book also describes new models of decentralized production, particularly the micro factory retailing (MFR) model, that provide an alternative to volume production and promise to be both more sustainable and more profitable.

Abbreviations and glossary -- Introduction -- The structure of the automotive industry -- Markets and the demand for cars -- manufacturers to responsible mobility providers -- Sector shift, inter-sector dynamics and futures studies -- Powertrain and fuel -- Fuel cells and the hydrogen economy -- High volume car production: Budd and Ford -- Alternatives to high volume car production -- Sustainability -- Sustainable mobility -- Practical steps towards sustainability -- Automobility 2050, the vision -- The distributed economy -- The shape of the future -- The roadmap -- Micro factory retailing -- Conclusions and implications -- index Abbreviations and glossary Introduction The structure of the automotive industry Markets and the demand for cars From manufacturers to responsible mobility providers Sector shift, inter-sector dynamics and futures studies Powertrain and fuel Fuel cells and the hydrogen economy High volume car production: Budd and Ford Alternatives to high volume car production Sustainability Sustainable mobility Practical steps towards sustainability Automobility 2050, the vision The distributed economy The shape of the future The roadmap Micro factory retailing Conclusions and implications index.