GM publishes 'Blue Paper' for sustainable urban mobility

On November 7, General Motors published its "Blue Paper" for sustainable urban mobility - a road map for overcoming mobility and urbanization challenges

The Blue Paper addresses the growing challenges associated with rising urbanization and the greater demand for transportation with respect to energy, the environment, safety, traffic congestion and land use. It envisions a new automobile DNA based on electrification and connectivity, and promises a cleaner, safer and more convenient future for urban transportation.

GM’s Vision of Sustainable Urban Mobility
The Blue Paper integrates learnings and feedback from GM’s six “Drive to 2030”: Sustainable Urban Mobility forums, which took place from May to October at the SAIC-GM Pavilion at World Expo 2010 Shanghai.

“The Blue Paper is an important document that integrates the learnings from our forums and participation in Expo 2010, which have provided a compelling vision of the future of the automobile and urban communities,” according to Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. “This vision, which GM is proud to document in the Blue Paper, serves as a roadmap to the electrification, connectivity, creative design, and advanced innovation strategies that will lead the world to sustainable urban mobility by 2030.”

In GM’s vision of sustainable urban mobility, vehicles of the future will be increasingly powered by electricity, connected continuously to the communications infrastructure, electronically controlled, autonomously driven when desired, and flexibly designed to meet specific usage requirements. With this vision, GM proposes specific objectives for future mobility. Driving in the future will become cleaner, safer, less petroleum-dependent, more convenient, and more fun and fashionable than ever before.

Electrification, Connectivity, Creative Design will Change Automobile DNA
Electrification, connectivity and creative design are key components of the technology solutions that GM has offered.

“It is important that those with a stake in the future act now to achieve a new vision of sustainable personal mobility,” said Wale. “By electrifying, connecting, and redesigning our vehicles – and by integrating them with the energy, communications, and transportation infrastructure – we will ensure that future vehicles are in harmony with society’s needs.”

Three new-energy vehicles – the Chevrolet Volt, EN-V (Electric Networked-Vehicle) concept, and Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle – which GM is showing at EVS25, demonstrate the progress that the company has made in electrification, connectivity and creative design.

A Call for the Promotion of Sustainable Urban Mobility
The Blue Paper offers eight recommendations for overcoming the challenges associated with the rising demand for personal mobility and growing urbanization:

1. Accelerate and encourage the move to the electrification of the automobile, including the development of key vehicle components, a smart power grid, and a comprehensive urban recharging infrastructure.
2. Increase the diversity of energy sources, particularly the development of a broad array of renewable sources, to support low-emission pathways to electrification.
3. Leverage connectivity by ensuring a high-quality wireless communications infrastructure and encouraging the rapid development of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and related intelligent transportation technologies.
4. Develop a sophisticated, integrated, intelligent transportation system that dynamically manages large transportation flows using the latest communications and computer controls.
5. Integrate electrically powered, connected vehicles into a multi-modal transport system that incorporates sophisticated inter-city transport, comprehensive subway systems, traditional vehicle movement, and specialized smaller urban vehicles.
6. Align government tax, regulatory, and procurement policies to support the vision of connected electrically driven vehicles. Specific globally consistent codes and standards should be developed. Government organizations should also support funding to encourage continued electric vehicle research and development and consumer incentives to support the transition to new energy vehicles.
7. Begin to optimize the physical infrastructure to support new urban vehicles through active collaboration and cooperation among urban planning authorities, think tanks, academic institutions, automotive companies, and infrastructure companies.
   Identify a series of “lighthouse” projects to rapidly demonstrate the viability and potential of connected electrically driven vehicles in a controlled environment such as an eco-city or small town.

Realizing the vision of sustainable mobility requires cooperation among government institutions, the automotive industry, infrastructure developers, and the academic community. Through its eight recommendations, GM is committed to working closely with stakeholders to drive the automotive industry to a sustainable future.

GM is showcasing its leadership in electric vehicle technology at EVS25, which runs from November 4-9. In line with the theme of its stand – “The Road to the Future” – it is introducing the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, the EN-V (Electric Networked-Vehicle) concept, and the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle. All three vehicles were part of GM’s participation in Expo 2010 from May 1-October 31. During EVS25, GM is also hosting a test drive of the Volt and Equinox Fuel Cell.