Car enthusiasts and professionals are headed to Frankfurt this week to the International Motor Show (IAA) as the industry emerges out of long crisis in Europe, but warily eyes slowing demand in China.
The organizers, Germany’s Verband der Automobilindustrie, said the IAA’s 66th edition promises 210 world premieres and an “amazing display of innovations” from 1,100 exhibitors from 39 countries,
The biennial event is held in Frankfurt’s gigantic trade fair exhibition, a space the size of 33 football pitches.
Photo: Reuters
The world press enjoyed a sneak preview yesterday and industry professionals have the grounds to themselves for two days before it is open to the public on Saturday.
After long years of crisis, the industry finally has something to smile about as demand picks up again in Europe, where new registrations increased by 8.2 percent in the first six months of this year.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association is penciling in growth of about 5 percent for the whole year.
However, that increase will not be sufficient to return the industry to annual sales in Europe of 16 million units that it had seen before the 2008 to 2013 crisis cut the market by around a quarter.
“Even if we’re starting from very low levels, it’s still encouraging to see the market recover,” driven by double-digit growth in southern Europe, said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center for Automotive Research CAM in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.
However, it is not just Europe: The sector’s new-found health is evident in North America, too, with demand near record highs.
By contrast, emerging economies such as Brazil and Russia are mired in recession. China, where years of double-digit growth turned it into the world’s biggest automobile market, has been hit with a brutal economic slowdown, and demand is projected at just 3 percent this year.
Volkswagen AG generates 36 percent of its sales in China, just ahead of US rival General Motors Co’ 35 percent, but foreign joint ventures in China have lost ground to wholly owned Chinese makers, whose products are frequently cheaper.
Nevertheless, industry experts point out that the market penetration is still very low in China, so the demand is likely to continue to grow in the medium term, even if at a less profitable rate for foreign makers.
Among the new models on display at this year’s IAA, Renault SA’s Megane 4 and Opel’s Astra 5 will both be vying for attention. The French carmaker will unveil a new version of its Talisman, while German top-of-the-range maker Audi AG will present the next generation of its A4.
However, it will be the urban 4x4s, the market’s darlings, that are likely to steal consumers’ hearts, with Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co presenting more affordable models such as the Tiguan and the Edge, while Jaguar will show off its luxury F-Pace and Bentley its ultra-exclusive Bentayga.
For those opposed to the fuel-guzzlers, there are more ecologically minded models — particularly interesting for drivers in Europe, which already has the most stringent transport carbon-dioxide emission goals in the world and could see them tightened at the Conference of Parties 21 summit in Paris in December.
Toyota Motor Corp has chosen Frankfurt to lift the veil on the fourth generation of its flagship hybrid, Prius. BMW AG will also present a series combining both electric and gasoline engines.
Another key focus at this year’s IAA will be exciting new technologies such as automated driving. For the first time, about 30,000m2 of exhibition floor space will be given over to new forms of mobility, from the connected to the self-driving car.
In other news, BMW chief executive Harald Krueger fainted yesterday during a press briefing at the show, forcing the German carmaker to halt the presentation.
The 49-year-old Krueger, who has headed BMW since May, was speaking to reporters at the company’s exhibit when he apparently felt dizzy and collapsed. He was helped away by two bodyguards.
BMW said in a brief statement that Krueger had a dizzy spell and that he had not been feeling well in the morning after returning from a trip abroad. It added that he was feeling better after an initial examination.
A BMW spokesman at the show a short later said that Krueger had canceled all his meetings scheduled for yesterday and returned home.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be