At a recent dinner party during the depth of gloom and turmoil in the US and European auto industries, a senior oil executive turned to his counterpart at a large car manufacturing company. The oil man suggested that it was his own industry that should be fighting for its survival, rather than the carmakers.
His argument was that concerns about climate change were turning people against the fuel that propels the vehicle, rather than the vehicle itself. This suggests the one thing car companies have to do is to learn to change with the times, while oil producers have little choice but to pack up and call it a day.
