The Record - Issue 21: Summer 2021

95 AUTOMOT I V E mobility and transpor- tation at Microsoft. “Most of the emissions in automo- tive are produced in the value chain, with the vast majority of the lifetime impact of vehicles coming in their usage. One way to mitigate this is through electrification with green energy sourcing; Microsoft for example will electrify its entire global vehicle fleet by 2030, and intelligent fleet management will provide the data to allow us to optimise this. Nonetheless, the industry faces considera- ble outside pressure. Consumer expectations are evolving to demand a more sustainable approach, while regulations and emission lim- its are coming into force in countries across the world. In response, car design has shifted rapidly towards electrification. “The entire industry is working with electric platforms and are producing a range of products which range from plug-in hybrids to fully electric vehicles,” says Ravi. “For passenger cars, this tran- sition will progress quite quickly, as it will for vans and light trucks. This may take longer for heavy trucks, but several companies are also working on both improved battery technology and hydrogen fuel-cell power to make this a reality.” Electrification will allow vehicles to be as sus- tainable as the energy that powers them, making them no worse than any other consumer of elec- tricity. The local pollution impact is removed, and the vehicle can become more immediately sustainable over its lifetime as availability of