Rising oil prices pose a grave threat to the global economic recovery, according to experts. The fear has been expressed by the automobile industry. This week in Perth, Volvo’s head of product planning, Lex Kerssemakers, said: “we all know that oil is running out.”

“We need to find alternative solutions and though we are aware of the alternatives – LPG, CNG, ethanol, electric and so on – we have to introduce these to the market, he said. “If we don’t do it now, we won’t be ready in five years when oil may be prohibitively expensive.”

Mr. Kerssemakers said Volvo would have an electric car on the world market in 2012 that would use less than 1.5 litres/100km of fuel – about one-tenth of that used by a current V8-engined sedan. Volvo is not alone in the race to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles – all car companies are either developing alternatively engined or fuelled vehicles by themselves or in partnership with other car companies that, in many cases, were once their fierce rivals.

Read more: Perth Now