El congreso, al que se espera asistan unas 20.000 personas entre ellas las principales mentes técnicas del sector del automóvil, se celebra este año bajo el lema de "Acelerando hacia la movilidad verde".
Según un estudio que será dado a conocer durante la reunión, el éxito de la comercialización de vehículos híbridos enchufables y eléctricos durante la actual recesión dependerá en gran medida de la capacidad para tranquilizar a los consumidores sobre los riesgos financieros asociados con esos automóviles.
La reunión también permitirá a unos 300 expositores exhibir las últimas tecnologías y sus aplicaciones.
Ford, el segundo fabricante estadounidense de automóviles, mostrará los nuevos sistemas de baterías de litio-ion que está desarrollando y que constituyen el corazón de sus sistemas híbridos enchufables que combinan motores eléctricos y de combustión.
Ford espera que las nuevas baterías de litio-ion sean un 5% más eficientes que las actuales de níquel y que su coste de producción sea hasta un 30% menor, lo que reducirá de forma significativa el precio de híbridos enchufables y eléctricos.
Por su parte, la vicepresidenta de General Motors para Medio Ambiente, Energía y Seguridad, Elizabeth Lowery, dijo que el fabricante también está trabajando para reducir su huella medioambiental en el proceso de producción.
"Aunque GM está en el proceso de reinventar el automóvil y la compañía, también estamos redefiniendo la sostenibilidad medioambiental en nuestras factorías", afirmó Lowery.
GM dijo que para finales del próximo año, 50% de sus operaciones globales de fabricación no enviarán residuos a los vertederos ya que todos sus deshechos serán reciclados, reutilizados o convertidos en energía.
La empresa también reveló que de 2005 a 2008 ha reducido el consumo de energía más de un 23%, el equivalente a la necesaria para calentar y proporcionar electricidad a 700.000 viviendas en Estados Unidos.
El gobernador del estado de California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, dijo en la apertura del congreso que Washington debería ayudar más al sector del automóvil que está siendo castigado por la falta de una política energética coherente.
Schwarzenegger dijo que el sector del automóvil "no ha creado este lío" sino el Gobierno del país que ha sido incapaz de crear una política energética.
El Congreso Mundial SAE 2009 es el principal foro de reunión de los ingenieros del sector del automóvil. En la edición de este año, los organizadores de la reunión esperan que del 20 al 24 de abril unas 20.000 personas participen en el congreso que también ha atraído unos 300 expositores.
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Schwarzenegger blames auto woes on empty US policy
The once mighty US car industry has been blighted by the lack of a coherent US energy policy to cut dependence on foreign oil, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger charged Monday.
"The government should provide money to help the automakers in research and development, but it can also no longer keep changing their policies," said Schwarzenegger at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) conference here.
"We need a vision for energy, a vision for our cars, a vision for greenhouse gases and a vision for tailpipe emissions. In all this time we have not had those visions."
The lack of a coherent energy policy dating back to the late 1980s has hurt carmakers, he said, alleging that prevailing policies had been basically tied to the low price of oil in the United States, which stiffled innovation.
"Detroit has been slow to change. But government policy has also hurt. Both share the blame," he said.
"I think the government created the problem because we didn’t have an energy policy," Schwarzenegger said.
The governor, who has long been critical of the Detroit-based Big Three — Chrysler, General Motors and Ford — also offered to do a commercial for them for free, once they are on the road to recovery.
"Detroit is going to be back and Detroit is a leading force in the car industry and worldwide," he vowed as he opened the SAE’s annual convention in the hub of the US car industry.
"Right now, they are going through some painful times. For anyone who says, ‘Leave them here, don’t help them’ is a huge amount of nonsense talk because of the fact of the matter is we all need to help Detroit," he said.
The new US administration has set deadlines for Chrysler and General Motors to restructure their companies to be more competitive in return for billions more dollars in government loans, or risk collapse.
Schwarzenegger said he believed Detroit’s carmakers could overcome their current difficulties, and noted the companies were now pushing ahead with developing new alternative technologies including battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen-fueled cars and hybrids.
The market, not the government, should decide which technology is best, he concluded, adding "they’re really not that far behind."
The California governor insisted the government has the responsibility to set policies to encourage efficiency and new technology.
The only reason his state, California, has developed an independent standard was because the federal government had failed to develop any kind of forward-looking policy, he said.
"There has been a lack of leadership in Washington," he charged. California and 13 other states have sought a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency to impose a 30 percent cut in tailpipe emissions by 2016.
Schwarzenegger said he favored a single standard on regulating emissions of greenhouses gases, blamed for global warming and climate change.
That is the position favored by the US automakers, who have complained that the development of new vehicles would be impaired if multiple-state level standards prevailed.
"It would make more sense," Schwarzenegger said. However, he added if there was a single standard in the US, it should be tough enough to serve as a model for other countries in the developing world such as India, China and Brazil.
