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GM calls for auto energy plan
(Bangkok Post (Thailand) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 9--Governments and automakers need to work together on an "energy security roadmap" focusing on many different energy resources, according to Steve Carlisle, the Thailand-based chief of operations for General Motors in Southeast Asia.
Addressing an industry forum on alternative fuels, Mr Carlisle said that GM was challenging the automobile's "98 percent dependence on petroleum" by adopting a strategy to displace petroleum through energy diversity.
"Clearly, the roadmap that Thailand and other countries have followed to this point, which relies on internal combustion engines powered almost exclusively by petroleum, is not sustainable over the long term," said Mr Carlisle, who is also the president of Chevrolet Sales Thailand.
According to Mr Carlisle, what is required is a new roadmap that incorporates alternative fuels as well as a full range of technologies that can ensure the sustainable development of the nation's automotive industry.
"This will also help ensure Thailand's energy security," he added.
Alternatives such as ethanol, hybrids, electricity and natural gas are important near-term solutions as the cost of crude oil continues to skyrocket, but according to Mr Carlisle the ultimate goal for displacing petroleum is hydrogen, which is abundantly available and generates no hydrocarbon emissions.
But the road to hydrogen-powered vehicles is still years away so in the meantime, governments and companies should continue to look at interim solutions.
To illustrate the important role governments can play, Mr Carlisle cited the situations in Brazil and Sweden where demand for ethanol was increased through the use of incentives and taxes. Smart policies led to a growth in demand for "flex fuel" vehicles which in Brazil now represent 80 percent of the market.
Adoption of ethanol in the United States has not been as successful because while the government offered incentives to vehicle manufacturers to produce flex fuel vehicles, demand lagged because the infrastructure was not in place and no discounts were applied to ethanol.
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Copyright (c) 2008, Bangkok Post, Thailand
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