Auto Market Recovering – says analyst

Frankfurt Auto Show, opens this week with 70 world premieres. There are a notable number of new cars powered either by batteries or hybrid gas-electric systems as well as some fantastic concept cars.

The Frankfurt Messe exhibition centre is actually 230,000 square meters, that’s 32 soccer fields and last time round it attracted 928,000 visitors. Organisers will be hoping to break 1 million visitors this year!

This years themes, judging by the manufacturer displays, are small SUVs and hybrid vehicles. The show has a large number of new battery-powered electrics and hybrids — which combine electric motors with internal combustion engines. “Some of the vehicles are speedy high performers in luxury price categories — which makes sense in a way. Electric motors can supply quick acceleration, while high-end consumers are more able to pay,” says one reporter.

“BMW has the i8, a hybrid sports car that uses carbon-fiber parts to save weight so it can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0-100 kph) in just 4.5 seconds. Audi has a hybrid concept of its venerable Quattro model, with a whopping 700 horsepower and top speed of 190 mph (305 kph). Toyota’s souped-up concept version of its Yaris compact comes with three electric motors and a 4-cylinder engine that can belt out 400 horsepower.”

Market Recovery

One reporter spoke to market analyst Christoph Stuermer who says:

“‘The mood at the show will be the recession is over and we survived.’ Sales in the United States, a key market for automakers worldwide, are finally back to pre-recession levels and could reach 16 million this year, according to figures released Thursday. EU sales are headed for just under 12 million this year — far below the 2007 level of 15.6 million. Still, there’s hope that sales have at least bottomed. The 17 countries that use the euro emerged from an 18-month recession in the second quarter.”

In the SUV market Mercedes will unveil its GLA small SUV and Lexus will feature the LF-NX concept — using Toyota’s successful hybrid drive system. Since 2009, SUVs have doubled their market share in Germany, the biggest European auto market, from 7 per cent to around 16 per cent.

Linking the car to the Internet, smart phones or GPS services is also billed as a theme of the show. One car on display at the show, the new Mercedes S-Class luxury sedan, can already drive on its own in stop-and-go traffic to reduce driver fatigue — although it quickly reminds drivers to put their hands back on the wheel. Other carmakers are aiming for similar levels of driver assistance, but technological and legal barriers remain.

In the U.S. and Europe, manufacturers are already testing technology that would allow cars to communicate with each other and the infrastructure around. Mercedes calls it “car-to-x communication” and it would warn a driver of obstacles, like an overturned truck ahead, or anomalies, like a car heading into oncoming traffic, before they can be seen. The German company is putting cars equipped with this technology on the road this year. It’s all part of a push to make driving safer.

This article has been largely reproduced from article originally written by BY DAVID MCHUGH AND SARAH DILORENZO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and published online by Times Colonist.