It isn't a given that the companies that provide mobility today will also be the ones to do so tomorrow. Every company has to work hard to make this happen.

Statistics compiled by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority highlight how successfully we have reduced fuel consumption. A few years ago, the CO2 emissions for the BMW brand were at well over 200 grams per kilometer. In 2009, that number was at 159 grams. This puts us below our direct competitors.

Size alone is not a key to success, as we have seen recently.

Joschka Fischer was a Green Party politician and Germany's foreign minister. We hired Mr. Fischer, as well as former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, as advisors because we, as an automaker, want to know, for example, how new emissions laws will develop in the United States, Europe and Asia. Fischer and Ms. Albright have diverse contacts worldwide. They can call our attention to trends early on, information from which we can benefit.

As far as I'm concerned, however, it is clear that the concept of premium will be increasingly defined through sustainability in the future.

I am firmly convinced that the trend toward more fuel-efficient vehicles is not a fad. Gas prices will continue to rise in the medium to long term, because demand is growing considerably in China, India and other countries.

If you, as CEO, have recognized an approach as being the right one, you have to pursue it consistently, even if some people disagree. But it is now clear to everyone that we, as an automaker, have no alternative but to take [environmental protection] course.