Envisioning the Future of the Auto Industry

Later today, the Senate is likely to consider legislation, already passed by the House to provide about $1 billion to encourage people to trade in old cars for new ones.  If Senator Judd Gregg (R NH) does not prevent its passage, the so-called cash for clunkers bill--at this level of funding, down from the initial request--would take about 250,000 jalopies off the road and replace them with new cars.  Though a 250,000 increase in new car sales will have only a small impact on overall US car sales which have virtually halved from about 18 million cars to under 10 million cars this year, the bill will bring people into showrooms.  In addition, if passed, the bill will improve overall gas mileage and reduce overall emissions.  The cash for clunkers idea is a good one that NDN has long supported.

However, coming on the heels of the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler and unprecedented government intervention in the auto sector it also serves to underscore the challenges and uncertainty that surround the auto business. Have Americans stopped buying cars because of the financial crisis?  Or does the decline reflect uncertainty following last year's gas spike?  Why are Toyota and AUdi gaining market share from US companies despite higher wages in Japan and Germany? Are all electric, hybrid or batural gas cars the answer to the challenges of climate change and energy security? What will the American and global auto industries look like in the future?  In the last six months, the US government and Wall Street have focused unprecedented attention on the auto industry.  Yet for the most part, no one has answered or even asked these questions. 

With the US auto industry likely to employ about half the people at the end of this year as at the end of last, there are plenty of reasons to be a pessimist.  But, no crisis occurs without opportunity.  When we consider that companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google went from nothing to billion dollar companies employing tens of thousands of people in a decade or less, it is not unreasonable to think that smart people could potentially reinvent the transportation industry in more sustainable form.  Indeed, some innovative companies are working to do just that.

One such company with a potentially transformative vision of the future is Better Place, a Palo Alto startup founded by Shai Agassi, formerly the chief operating officer of the software giant, SAP.  Better Place is not only working with car makers to develop all electric cars, it is also developing the infrastructure to easily charge them and create new leasing models that leverage the ability of car batteries to store power for the grid.  Better Place is one of a number of innovative companies working at the intersection of transportation, smart grid technology and the reinvention of the world's electricity infrastructure.  And it is doing this not only in the United States but around the world in Israel, Denmark, Australia and Japan. 

Just how America and the world address the challenge of the auto industry will be critical not only in determining our economic future but also in how we meet the challenges of climate change and energy security.

To advance discussion of this vital topic, tommorrow, I will have the pleasure of hosting Better Place CEO Shai Agassi at NDN in Washington for a conversation on the future of the global auto industry.  I invite you to attend this special event.

Envisioning the Future of the Global Auto Industry with Shai Agassi
Thursday, June 18, 9:45 a.m.
NDN: 729 15th St. NW, First Floor
A live webcast will begin at 10 a.m. ET

To register for this event, click here.

If you are not in Washington, the event will also be webcast.

Please join me for this important and exciting discussion.