Automobile business

The next generation automobile will pollute less; it will use up fewer resources; more people will own one; and it will constantly communicate with other automobiles to minimise road congestion, emission and accidents.

While the automobile may transform in other ways as well, the evolution will be driven as much by pressures of civil society and public policy as by the compulsions of competition and the free market.

In recent years, the automobile has become more attractive, shapely and colourful. While improved aesthetics is the result of design creativity and innovation, the more decisive evolution of the automobile has, perhaps, taken place elsewhere.

In the last two decades, the power of the internal combustion engine has more than doubled. In response to legislation like the Clean Air Act in the US, its emissions are down sharply. The fuel efficiency of the internal combustion engine is far superior now than before the oil crisis of the 1970s.

This evolution was clearly inspired by macro and social concerns. In future too, the evolution in the automobile will be a response to community concerns on energy, environment and affordability that will accompany the expansion of the global automobile market.