GM And China Share Ideas, Plans In Pathway to Sustainable Mobility Forum

by Wilson Nunnari
Jun 30th, 2010

Here’s an interesting statistic: researchers expect 60 percent of the world’s population to live in cities by 2025. That’s according to Elizabeth Deakin, a Professor of City and Regional Planning, at University of California, Berkeley. She believes that “new ways of organizing and managing transportation and urban development will be needed to deliver a better quality of life” – and this is just what General Motors set out to do in the Drive to 2030 Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum. The series started at the end of May with The Pathway to Sustainable Mobility Forum.

Future Mobility Solutions

According to a press release from The General, “GM is hosting six forums at the GM-SAIC Pavilion in Shanghai. Topics include: Mobility Internet: Connecting the Virtual Superhighway; Electrification: Plugging into the Future; Design: Sketching the Road to Tomorrow; Technology Solutions: Roadmap to Reinvention; and Urban Mobility: Drive to the Future.

The breadth of talent and knowledge at the forum was in no way in short supply: academics, government officials, and corporate executives discussed the major stakeholders, the technology, and the infrastructure that new urban transportation would require. GM’s plans for (the aptly-named) “future mobility solutions” will be released in the Roadmap to 2030 Blue Paper at the end of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo with a focus on ideas shared during the forum. It will contain the needs to make sustainable mobility the norm. Individual chapters will be made available at the end of the Expo right here.

The Push For Sustainable Transportation

China has recently seen a push for new transportation that is more sustainable. The government has encouraged this trend by spending RMB 2 billion ($294 million) to develop energy efficient vehicles as well as those that use alternative energy sources. This goes along with the agenda of John Miles, Global Leader of Energy, Resources and Industry for the Arup Group. He believes that tomorrow’s vehicles will be low on carbon and smart transit systems will replace today’s gas stations and carbon-spewing cars.

From within the GM family, Alan Taub – Vice President of GM Global Research and Development – mentioned that the industry is in an “unexpected stage of invention and creation.” While true, today’s automotive environment has been a long time coming and is (arguably) very necessary for the well being of the planet going forward. It is the first time in 100 years that cars have been powered by something other than gas combustion (save for the Stanley Steamer).

According to GM’s press release, “The ‘Drive to 2030: Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum series is being held in conjunction with World Expo 2010 Shanghai to address the role of business, government, urban design, energy diversity, consumer behavior, innovation, and advanced technology in creating a balanced and better future.”

GM is hoping for a world where driving is free from emissions and harmful effects to the planet. In addition, The General also looks forward to a world without accidents and congestion and would also like to see driving become more fun and fashionable. Most recently, GM released a series of bubbles concepts as a design experiment into the future of personal urban transportation called the EN-V.

GM Hosts Pathway to Sustainable Mobility Forum

2010-05-26

* Launches Expo 2010 Forum Series
* Addresses Stakeholder Roles, Technology and Infrastructure
* Announces Publication of China’s First Urban Mobility “Blue Paper”

Shanghai – General Motors launched its “Drive to 2030″: Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum series today with The Pathway to Sustainable Mobility Forum. The series was created to define the challenges facing future urban transportation and develop a roadmap for sustainable mobility.

Experts from the corporate, academic and government sectors discussed how to guide society along the path toward sustainable urban mobility. They covered the roles of major stakeholders as well as the technology and infrastructure required.

GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale announced during the opening of the forum that GM will publish the “Roadmap to 2030 Blue Paper” at the conclusion of World Expo 2010 Shanghai. It will be the first document of its kind in China that discusses future urban mobility solutions.

Elizabeth Deakin, Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley and Former Director of the Transportation Research Center, said that by 2025 over 60 percent of the world’s 8 billion people will live in cities. This migration to cities is being driven by many factors. “In some places, urbanization is an escape from failing soils, war, poverty, and other natural and man-made disasters. In many more places, it is the result of the new economic opportunities and challenges globalization presents,” said Deakin. “However, new ways of organizing and managing transportation and urban development will be needed to deliver a better quality of life.”

According to Feng Fei, Director General of Industry and Economy at the Development Research Center under China’s State Council, China’s level of urbanization could reach 65 percent by 2030. He said the Chinese government spent RMB 2 billion in the development of energy-efficient vehicles and vehicles utilizing new energy sources during the previous two Five-Year Plan periods. The government, said Feng, will continue to support the move away from the reliance on vehicles that utilize gasoline-powered internal combustion engines.

John Miles, Global Leader of Energy, Resources and Industry with the Arup Group, opined that a new generation of low-carbon vehicles and smart transit systems represents the key to mobility in tomorrow’s cities. He expressed the belief that green recharging stations for electric vehicles will eventually replace traditional gas stations. They will play the leading role in supporting the transit systems of urban areas in the future.

Alan Taub, Vice President of GM Global Research and Development, pointed out that the automotive industry has entered an “unexpected stage of invention and creation.” He called on the industry to take advantage of the new automobile DNA of electrification and connectivity to produce vehicles that are more fuel efficient, more sustainable, safer and more enjoyable to drive than vehicles currently on the road.

The “Drive to 2030″: Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum series is being held in conjunction with World Expo 2010 Shanghai to address the role of business, government, urban design, energy diversity, consumer behavior, innovation, and advanced technology in creating a balanced and better future. GM and its Chinese partner, SAIC, are the joint global automobile partner of Expo 2010.

Under the theme of “Drive to 2030,” they are introducing their vision of a future in which driving will be free from emissions, accidents, petroleum and congestion, as well as more enjoyable and fashionable than ever before.

The “Roadmap to 2030 Blue Paper” will draw together the thoughts of forum participants and highlight what needs to be done to make sustainable mobility a reality. GM is making individual chapters available online after the conclusion of each forum on its Expo 2010 website, www.gmexpo2010.com.

GM is hosting six forums at the SAIC-GM Pavilion in Shanghai. Topics include: Mobility Internet: Connecting the Virtual Superhighway; Electrification: Plugging into the Future; Design: Sketching the Road to Tomorrow; Technology Solutions: Roadmap to Reinvention; and Urban Mobility: Drive to the Future.

General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM is the joint global automobile partner of World Expo 2010 Shanghai along with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC). More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

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