Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. The automotive industry in crisis : economic and environmental failure -- 2. Diversity and the industrial ecology metaphor -- 3. Contemporary global diversity and cultures of automobility -- 4. Emergent diversity in the global automotive industry : the policy agenda -- 5. Alternative business models as the basis of a new industrial ecology of the automobile -- 6. Enablers and limiters of change -- 7. Conclusions.

This unique book seeks to combine economic analysis with the environmental research to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the forces that shape change in the automotive industry. It eschews the usual focus on technologies, and gives more attention to the impact of change on the business models and strategies adopted by the vehicle manufacturers, the scope for new entrants, and the implications for policy-makers. This richly textured book concludes that the achievement of a sustainable automotive industry will not be possible with "one best way", but that myriad technologies and business concepts, grounded in the distinct needs of different places and consumers, will be the basis of the future of mobility.