2006 Corus Industry Forum identifies safety and the environment as the automotive industry’s biggest challenges

The annual Corus Industry Forum has further opened the debate on some of the key challenges facing the automotive industry. Bringing together some of the industry’s most influential people, the forum focused on two of today’s hottest topics - safety and the environment.

At the forefront of the safety debate was the degree to which manufacturers should standardise active safety features. Numerous high technology safety aids have been developed but many do not yet feature in vehicles as standard equipment. Patrick le Quément, Senior Vice President of Design at Renault commented: “The search for automobile safety is almost limitless. Safety systems are often expensive and their inclusion as standard equipment would inevitably drive up the cost of cars.”

Christopher Macgowan, Chief Executive of the SMMT said: “Reducing accidents and injuries is as much a question of driver education as it is technology. We know high-tech safety systems make an enormous contribution to road safety, but in an age where seat belts are not mandatory in all countries, governments need to address some of the more fundamental issues before applying more pressure to the automotive sector.”

It was also stated that environmental pressures are also adding to the burden placed upon the industry. The forum discussed whether the automotive industry has done enough in recent years to address the issue and how it should plan for the future.  

Patrick le Quément commented: “The industry has obviously made enormous progress in recent years and that will continue into the future. I believe that reducing the weight of cars is key to achieving greater mpg and meeting tougher emissions levels. The miniaturisation of components is a priority for the industry and we will see enormous steps forward in that area of product development in future years.”

However, like the issue of safety, it was also suggested that automotive legislation cannot tackle environmental issues alone. “If we are to hit future targets for emissions, drivers will need to more readily accept changes in the types of vehicles they drive,” said Jon King, Director, Corus Automotive. “Ultimately, cars will be smaller, lighter and more technologically advanced, but in today’s market those are not the cars most in demand.  It will take a change in the consumer mindset to achieve significant reductions in emissions and so governments should be wary of over-legislating the industry.”

Christopher Macgowan is anticipating that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will once again target drivers in the forthcoming budget. “Our industry is an easy target”, he says. “It’s time other industries begin to bear more of the environmental burden on our society.”

The expert panel of industry leaders at the forum comprised: Patrick le Quément, Senior Vice President of Design, Renault; Christopher Macgowan, Chief Executive, SMMT; Edmund King, Executive Director, RAC Foundation; Dr. Tim Leverton, Group Engineering Director, JCB; Professor Jon King, Director, Corus Automotive and vehicle safety expert, Professor Dr. Jac Wisemans who is manager of the Competence Centre for Automotive Research and professor in Vehicle Safety at the University Eindhoven. 

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