Roundup: Geneva Motor Show highlights rise of electric cars

GENEVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Geneva International Motor Show opened its doors to the general public on Thursday and highlighted the rise of electric cars.

The 88th Geneva International Motor Show is gathering some 180 exhibitors showing 900 models, of which more than 110 are world and European premieres. More than 700,000 visitors are expected during the show from March 6 to 18.

"The Geneva International Motor Show is in great shape! We continue to be vigilant regarding the evolution of the automobile industry and the changing needs of our visitors," said Maurice Turrettini, president of the event.

The industry-wide adoption of electrification is on full display at this year's show, with a flurry of curious electric creations from a number of startups and fiddlers, among which are the Chinese brand Techrules.

Chinese manufacturer Techrules brings out this time their twin-turbine-powered Ren RS supercar, a new paradigm to car propulsion. With its patented TREV technology (turbine-recharging electric vehicle), Ren RS effectively creates a very efficient and powerful range-extending system that was first seen on the innovative and road-legal Techrules Ren supercar in 2017.

According to Techrules, the secret behind Ren RS' 960kW power and 1170 km range is an 80-liter diesel fuel bladder which feeds the turbines that drive a generator to charge a 28kWh Lithium-ion polymer battery pack. The battery then runs a pair of electric motors driving the front wheels and a quartet of electric motors for the rear wheels. Combined, this sextet of motors blasts the Chinese supercar from 0-100 km/h in 3.0 seconds flat and provides a range-extending capability.

Another Chinese car maker, LVCHI, also revealed an all-electric four-seater called Venere, with four electric motors -- two on each axle -- fed by a 100kWh lithium ion battery pack. The super electric car claimed to be capable of accelerating to 100 km/h in under 3.0 seconds, with the top speed over 250 km/h, which is attributed to its patented super powerful, fast-charging battery pack, according to the company.

Apart from the emerging brands, nearly every big names in the car industry brought out their new electric models, either production-ready or in new concepts.

Mercedes-Benz brought its new battery electric smart cars, the smart EQ ForTwo and smart EQ ForFour, the "first products from the Mercedes-Benz Cars EQ family on urban roads and showing how much fun electric mobility can be," said smart CEO Annette Winkler.

Volkswagen said it's planning on a new all-electric architecture called Modular Electric Toolkit (or MEB), which will form the basis for the Group's 12 different brands. Volkswagen has shown off several concepts for MEB-based vehicles, like the I.D. and more recently the I.D. Crozz.

Honda brought its utterly charming Honda Urban EV, and announced it will open its order books for a production version early next year, in particular, by in production by the second half of 2019 for customers in Europe.

Embracing the major trend of electrification in car production, the Geneva motor show, together with IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, or International radio exhibition Berlin) and Messe Berlin, launched a new biannual convention, Shift Automotive, to explore how new technologies are changing the way people think, live and drive.

The new convention will be held twice a year, in Geneva and Berlin, alongside the Geneva International Motor Show and IFA, to explore the challenges posed by the mobility disruption and celebrate ideas for the automotive future ahead. Enditem