Environmental Challenges Top Industry List For First Time
Environmental issues have topped cost reduction as the major concern for the auto industry for the first time according to a survey by DuPont and the Society of the Automotive Industry (SAE) [via CNN Money]. The survey of automotive designers and engineers picked a basket of challenges– from CAFE standards to emissions controls– as the industry's top concern, unseating cost reduction after 14 years. Fifty-three percent of those polled selected environmental concerns vs. 32 percent who went with cost reduction, Some 54 percent also say consumers are most concerned with improvements in fuel efficiency; only 37 percent think improved comfort and convenience float purchasers' semi-metaphorical boat. In less surprising news, alternative fuel-powered vehicles were named as the technology with the greatest impact on the car industry for the fifth year running. Biofuels and weight reductions also climbed in importance in this year's poll, completing the snapshot of an industry in transition.