Bosch Calls for Accelerating Development of Alternative Energy Sources

Marks outlines energy availability scenarios, encourages industry to make fundamental changes today

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Aug. 14 -- As consumers seek solutions to energy challenges, many of the vehicle technologies with the potential to lead us from a world of energy scarcity to a world of energy abundance are known and their development should be accelerated, said Peter Marks, chairman, president and CEO of Robert Bosch LLC, while speaking at the Management Briefing Seminars today.

"Turbulence caused by external factors is changing the automotive industry like never before, and energy has become a major point of concern, since it touches virtually every aspect of our lives," Marks said. "The global growth in demand for oil is outpacing its availability, which will ultimately result in energy scarcity, likely before we develop advanced energy technologies that will be enough to close the gap to the world's energy demand."

The magnitude of energy scarcity will depend in part on the speed with which the automotive industry moves toward utilizing alternative energy sources, such as electricity, while at the same time also improving existing powertrain technologies, including diesel systems, gasoline direction injection and hybrids to reduce energy use, he said.

Marks explained that current fuel prices, for instance, have already created changes in consumer attitude and behavior that is causing significant industry challenges including dropping vehicle sales and production, and changing vehicle mix. These realities will create future change that the industry must be prepared to address.

In a world of energy abundance, Marks painted a much brighter picture of the planet: "Imagine we have developed advanced technologies for solar, wind, hydro-energy and its storage, sufficient enough to close the gap to the world's energy demand."

"We need to improve our industry's readiness for upcoming change," Marks said. "If we do this right, my deep belief is that this industry can go beyond that and be the leaders in developing the right solutions to address these complex energy and mobility challenges.

"As an industry we need to prepare differently for our collective future. And, now more than ever, make the right decisions about energy use and technology development."