Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in the Automotive Sector

<!--HTML-->Since this year there can be no doubt that "sustainability" has become the top issue in the automotive sector. Volkswagen's CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn attacked incumbents like BMW Group (so far the "most sustainable car manufacturer" for the 8th consecutive year) or Toyota (producer of the famous "Prius") head-on by boldly stating to become "the most profitable and most sustainable car manufacturer worldwide by 2018" . This announcement clearly shows that "sustainability" and "profitability" no longer are considered as conflicting targets. On the contrary, to Prof. Dr. Winterkorn : "climate protection is a driver for economic growth". To prime discussions, the plenary talk will give a brief overview of the entire range of energy efficiency in the automotive sector: based on the multiple drivers behind energy efficiency, practical examples are presented along the entire life-cycle of cars (R&D, production, usage and recycling). These "cases" include big automobile producers as well as their respective suppliers. Common to all efforts is the strategic tirade "prevent", "reduce" and "compensate" of energy usage and its CO2 emissions respectively.