"Abstract The first century of the automobile has had a profound effect on society@ the economy@ industry@ technology@ and the global environment. One of the great challenges of the past century has been to minimize the potential impact of transportation systems on the global environment. The challenges of the next 100 years will be much greater than those of the first century@ especially for the global@ urban-centered economies of the next century. During this next era@ automotive companies will not only need to be concerned with the effect of transportation systems on the environment and natural resources but how sociological@ cultural@ economic and political factors may affect these systems. Some key imperatives of the 21st century will be to advocate global approaches to the establishment of international standards; champion consortia in cooperation with government@ academia and industry; develop new approaches that integrate technical@ social and economic solutions; balance free-market with regulatory approaches; support scientific research as needed to help develop sound environmental policies; and use life-cycle assessment models to help evaluate the potential environmental@ economic and energy outcomes of transportation systems on a global basis. In this paper we focus on many of these issues@ especially as they relate to developing countries such as China and their impact on energy resources and the environment. As the global resources of petroleum become depleted@ there will be a gradual shift to other alternative fuel and energy sources. The use of electric power for transportation applications will become more attractive since this electricity can be generated from a wide array of sources@ each of which can be easily feed into the world's extensive electrical distribution systems. In order to effectively utilize emerging energy sources@ global transportation companies will continue to accelerate the development of cost-effective and reliable technologies including alternative fuel vehicles@ high-energy efficiency vehicles@ small personal-use vehicles@ electricycles and intelligent transportation systems. Personal transportation systems will become highly integrated with public transportation strategies. The energy efficient vehicles of the future will incorporate ""hybrid-electric propulsion systems."" Such systems may employ various combinations of technologies including: a solid-state energy storage system which may be electrochemical or thermal; a fuel tank to store liquid or gaseous fuels; an internal combustion engine@ heat engine or fuel cell stack; and a direct-drive electric motor. As has been the case in the 20th century@ the ultimate success of these new technologies in the 21st century will be based primarily upon customer acceptance which includes value@ functionality and reliability."