Role of the Motor-Vehicle Industry in a Sustainable Transportation System

A sustainable transportation system is one in which fuel consumption, vehicle emissions, safety, congestion, and access to social and economic opportunity are of such levels that they can be sustained into the indefinite future without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own transportation needs. Each of the stakeholders in the transportation system—local, state, and federal governments; the fuel and motor-vehicle industries; and public-transportation providers, users, and others—will have roles to play in moving toward sustainability. The motor-vehicle industry, as manufacturers of the vehicles that are used for 99 percent of the personal ground veh-km of travel, will need to participate proactively with all of the stakeholders in the transportation system as it addresses the challenges and opportunities in the areas of fuel consumption, emissions, congestion, safety, and access.