Spotlight: New car trends displayed at Frankfurt Auto Show

The International Motor Show in Frankfurt (IAA) on Thursday opened its doors to the public. Compared to previous years, more attention has been focused on the themes of digitalization and automated driving.

"The digitization of mobility is the theme that drives the automotive industry with a high rate of innovation," said Matthias Wissmann, President of the Association of the German Automotive Industry (VDA).

"Driving becomes even safer, more comfortable and more efficient. The German automotive industry alone plans to invest 16 to 18 billion euros (20 billion U.S. dollars) in the networked and automated driving over the next three to four years," he added.

Together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Wissmann opened the 66th IAA where over 1,100 exhibitors from 39 countries and regions will showcase 219 world premieres, more than a third more than two years ago.

Volkswagen's take on digitalization were displayed in Frankfurt through new technical and communicative innovations. Their highlight is the new Tiguan with its numerous innovations and a new level of connectivity.

In addition to further expansion of pure e-mobility, Herbert Diess, head of Volkswagen's core passenger car brand, has promised to introduce a plug-in hybrid in each segment of the Wolfsburg-based carmaker.

Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi's head of development, presented a glimpse into the future. The technological study Audi e-tron quattro concept provides a glimpse of the first mass-produced Audi electric car that is expected to come in 2018 on the market. The lithium-ion battery, housed in the floor of the car, would allow a range of more than 500 km.

Porsche presented "Mission E" as the first all-electric four-seater sports car in the brand's history. The concept study combines the typical design of a Porsche and a 800-volt drive. The electric super sports car has a range of over 500 km, acceleration in less than 3.5 seconds from zero to 100 km / h and a charging time of around 15 minutes for 80 percent of the electrical energy.

The Volkswagen Group apparently wants to challenge Tesla's success in the field of electrical luxury class and the corresponding sports car segment.

With prices around 100,000 euros, electro-mobility with a long range is a question of price.

It would not change much in the near future, estimated battery researcher Wolfgang Haselrieder, scientific director of the BatteryLab Factory of the Technical University Braunschweig. So far, the market for electric cars is still too small, he said.

Another popular theme at the show was new battery technologies.

Volkmar Denner, CEO of the Stuttgart-based automotive component supplier Bosch, announced the takeover of the startup company Seeo from the United States. Seeo holds patents on so-called solid-state cells for lithium batteries.

"The solid-state cell could be a decisive breakthrough technology," Denner said. "It could potentially allow a high energy density and therefore high ranges in electric cars."

Bosch will invest about 400 million euros annually in e-mobility to bring its technology to series production in five years. According to Bosch estimates, the energy density of energy storage, and thus the range, could be more than doubled by 2020. The cost should be halved at least.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stressed that the Volkswagen Group is reorganized technologically, economically and structurally and does not shy away from competition for the best solutions even against new competitors such as Google.

Other German manufacturers such as Mercedes, BMW and Opel are also present in the show.

Daimler sees itself undergoing a transformation from solely an automaker to networked mobility service. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said: "Digitization will be determined by the ability to make the right prediction (predictive) and the possibility to adapt the offer accordingly (adaptive)."

"These two terms will confront us more often in the future," he said.

Zetsche stressed that Mercedes-Benz will do everything possible to guarantee the security of data and prevent unauthorized access to the car electronics.

The automotive industry and IT companies need to continue the journey together, he said, adding: "The car stands today where mobile phone was before it became 'smart.'"

Before the Frankfurt show, General Motors chief Mary Barra announced 29 new models of Opel and British sister brand Vauxhall for the next five years.

Among them are another electric car and an SUV as the second flagship in addition to the Insignia. The ambition of Opel/Vauxhall is to advance from number three to the number two position in Europe by 2022.

In addition to European brands, Asian manufacturers brought their innovations to the trade fair. But no brand from the Far East attracted as much attention as Borgward.

The traditional German brand was taken over by Chinese investors and is expected to shine in new splendor. It has fired the starting gun at the IAA with an SUV. Not later than next Spring, the SUV should hit the streets. Endit