T
GM China
GM (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
Public Affairs & Communications
56 Jinwan Road, Pudong
Shanghai 201206, China
For Release: May 26, 2010
Contact: Michael Albano
General Motors International Operations
(86-21) 2899-6463
(86) 138-1613-6496
GM Hosts Pathway to Sustainable Mobility Forum

Launches Expo 2010 Forum Series

Addresses Stakeholder Roles, Technology and Infrastructure

Announces Publication of China’s First Urban Mobility “Blue Paper”
Shanghai – General Motors launched its "Drive to 2030": Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum
series today with The Pathway to Sustainable Mobility Forum. The series was created to
define the challenges facing future urban transportation and develop a roadmap for
sustainable mobility.
Experts from the corporate, academic and government sectors discussed how to guide
society along the path toward sustainable urban mobility. They covered the roles of major
stakeholders as well as the technology and infrastructure required.
GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale announced during the
opening of the forum that GM will publish the “Roadmap to 2030 Blue Paper” at the
conclusion of World Expo 2010 Shanghai. It will be the first document of its kind in China
that discusses future urban mobility solutions.
Elizabeth Deakin, Former Director of the Transportation Research Center and Professor of
City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, said that by 2025 over
60 percent of the world’s 8 billion people will live in cities. This migration to cities is being
driven by many factors. “In some places, urbanization is an escape from failing soils, war,
poverty, and other natural and man-made disasters. In many more places, it is the result of
the new economic opportunities and challenges globalization presents,” said Deakin.
“However, new ways of organizing and managing transportation and urban development
will be needed to deliver a better quality of life.”
According to Feng Fei, Director General of Industry and Economy at the Development
Research Center under China’s State Council, China’s level of urbanization could reach 65
percent by 2030. He said the Chinese government spent RMB 2 billion in the development
of energy-efficient vehicles and vehicles utilizing new energy sources during the previous
two Five-Year Plan periods. The government, said Feng, will continue to support the move
away from the reliance on vehicles that utilize gasoline-powered internal combustion
engines.
John Miles, Global Leader of Energy, Resources and Industry with the Arup Group, opined
that a new generation of low-carbon vehicles and smart transit systems represents the key
to mobility in tomorrow’s cities. He expressed the belief that green recharging stations for
electric vehicles will eventually replace traditional gas stations. They will play the leading
role in supporting the transit systems of urban areas in the future.
Alan Taub, Vice President of GM Global Research and Development, pointed out that the
automotive industry has entered an “unexpected stage of invention and creation.” He called
on the industry to take advantage of the new automobile DNA of electrification and
connectivity to produce vehicles that are more fuel efficient, more sustainable, safer and
more enjoyable to drive than vehicles currently on the road.
The "Drive to 2030": Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum series is being held in conjunction
with World Expo 2010 Shanghai to address the role of business, government, urban design,
energy diversity, consumer behavior, innovation, and advanced technology in creating a
2
balanced and better future.
GM and its Chinese partner, SAIC, are the joint global
automobile partner of Expo 2010.
Under the theme of “Drive to 2030,” they are introducing their vision of a future in which
driving will be free from emissions, accidents, petroleum and congestion, as well as more
enjoyable and fashionable than ever before.
The “Roadmap to 2030 Blue Paper” will draw together the thoughts of forum participants
and highlight what needs to be done to make sustainable mobility a reality. GM is making
individual chapters available online after the conclusion of each forum on its Expo 2010
website, www.gmexpo2010.com.
GM is hosting six forums at the SAIC-GM Pavilion in Shanghai. Topics include: Mobility
Internet: Connecting the Virtual Superhighway; Electrification: Plugging into the Future;
Design: Sketching the Road to Tomorrow; Technology Solutions: Roadmap to Reinvention;
and Urban Mobility: Drive to the Future.
General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With
its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the
world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars
and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands:
Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling.
GM is the joint global automobile partner of World Expo 2010 Shanghai along with
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC). More information on the new
General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.
###
3