 |
The road to 2030
click image to enlargeThe quest for better fuel efficiency could add up to big gains over the next 20 years.
Imagine if instead of taking you to an address, your car's GPS could take you 20 years down the road.
You would likely see how decades of progress in engine, fuel system and other automotive technologies will have made our personal vehicles far more fuel-efficient than they are today.
No single technology will achieve this result. Instead, a variety of innovations — including some developed by ExxonMobil — could combine to help drivers go farther on less fuel while also curbing emissions.
Are we talking just about hybrids? Not necessarily.
While hybrids and other advanced vehicles will play an important and growing role, we anticipate that the greatest fuel savings through 2030 will come from conventional vehicles — the type that most Americans drive today.
ExxonMobil expects that through 2030, a greater number of conventional vehicles will incorporate fuel-saving technologies such as turbocharged and downsized gasoline engines, cylinder deactivation and highly efficient transmissions.
Lighter-weight materials, improved aerodynamics and tire technologies also will contribute. These include ExxonMobil’s fuel-saving tire liners and advanced plastics used in car parts such as bumpers and fuel tanks.
These are not far-off innovations; many are available today and, taken together, they could improve the fuel economy of conventional vehicles by as much as 35 percent.
Considering that conventional vehicles likely will remain the most popular consumer choice through 2030, that’s a lot of fuel saved — and emissions avoided.
The drive for better fuel efficiency won’t end in 2030. It’s an ongoing mission that involves billions of dollars in investment, supportive public policies and informed consumer choices. But by 2030, we could be much farther down the road.
