Ian Dickie, Chief Executive of the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (FISITA), says: “There is no question we need urgent, radical action on the part of governments and the energy sector, as well as from consumers and the automotive industry. 

“Unfortunately there is no "silver bullet" to tackle the problem of transport energy.  Electric vehicles are the focus of much attention today, but without renewable sources of electricity we will still be reliant on fossil fuels to power them.

"FISITA's members, more than 160,000 automotive engineers in 38 countries, are working on ever more fuel-efficient vehicles such as the latest clean diesels and hybrids that combine conventional engines with electric drive.  They are also developing vehicles capable of running on alternative fuels like biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, and compressed natural gas."

“We need action in the short term to optimise the fuel efficiency of current vehicles, not only through improvements in vehicle technology but also in consumer behaviour and intelligent traffic management. Both of these steps have the potential to improve energy efficiency by up to 30 per cent. 

“At the same time, governments and society need to be prepared to take more drastic action to avoid a crisis in transport energy. On the supply side, this will mean supporting investment in renewable energy on a massive scale, unlike anything we see today.  On the demand side, we will have to make radical changes to the way we approach infrastructure planning and our behaviour in general, to reduce our dependence on journeys which are not energy efficient.”