For well over a century the auto-industry has changed little. Since the creation of the automobile in 1885 by Karl Benz, the idea of manufacturing a horseless carriage powered by a combustion engine has remained the accepted norm. Except for aesthetics and updated mechanics, the general concept of the car remains virtually identical to Karl Benz’s original idea.
However, in recent years things have started to change. Within the last decade the notion of a commercially viable greener, more environmentally friendly car or van, has started to gain ground within the industry. As country’s look to reduce their dependency on oil and foreign powers, governments are increasingly looking towards and promoting greener technologies.
The only real opposing factor to greener vehicles has always been due to commercial reasons. As soon as a large enough proven market opens up, retailers and manufacturers are more than willing to change their established habits. Governments often offer subsidies to initiate commercial shifts, and in-fact most of the major country’s producing cars and vans have already started offering manufacturer and consumer tax-breaks, in order to help boost the burgeoning industry.
But manufacturing an environmentally friendly car or van for sale is just the first part of creating a greener auto-industry. The real challenge with making the sector more eco-friendly involves reducing the CO2 footprint created during the manufacturing process. In a step towards a carbon neutral industry, Volkswagen, Europe’s largest manufacturer of cars and vans, is stepping up to the challenge by investing $1bn into the creation of a new zero carbon factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The new 6,000-acre property will produce over 150,000 cars and vans a year. The company boasts that the factory will support 2,000 jobs and a further 9,500 more. A number of important environmentally friendly systems have also been installed within the factory including a water reclamation system, a new eco-friendly painting method and a pledge to plant trees throughout the site. The plant is due to start production in 2011.
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