The future is greener
77th International Motor Show - Palexpo, Geneva
The 77th Geneva auto show, which ended last Sunday, had its usual number of novelties presented in various categories of innovations. The First World Presentation consisted of models that were considerably different from the current ones or completely new ones, which have not been exhibited previously anywhere in the world.
Others were exhibited for the first time in Europe and were referred to as the First European Presentation and those that were seen for the first time in Switzerland as the First Swiss Presentation. There were more than 130 from the about 900 cars that fell under these categories.
In addition, a number of models by various manufacturers included important modifications of a detail or technical innovations. Some of the highlights in the various categories of innovations are described below.
Over 730,700 visitors - the second highest in its history - went to the show, which started on March 8. This year the 252 exhibitors requested over 84,000 m2 of exhibition space but had to settle for part of the 77,000 m2 available in the expansive Palexpo Exhibition Centre next to Geneva Airport, where seven halls were turned into one enormous space filled with an impressive number of cars as far as the eyes could see.
The organisers this year pointed out that the show required about 3,000 people working 450,000 hours to set up the venue. Universities and colleges in and around Geneva supply hundreds of students to play hosts and answer questions from the hundreds of thousands of visitors during the two-week period of the show.
The advantages of this giant endeavour spill beyond Palexpo to the city of Geneva and beyond. Restaurants and other businesses work at full capacity, as do the numerous hotels in Geneva and its surroundings.
The trend emphasised last year during the show for alternative fuels continued this year with some more urgency. The number of cars that run on new fuels nearly doubled since the last show. There was an increase in the number of hybrid cars powered by natural gas or bio ethanol from the major manufacturers. In spite of these green developments, over 90 per cent of the cars on show this year were still powered by petrol or diesel.
The Swiss natural gas industry (Gasmobil), like last year, demonstrated a selection of the latest gas-powered vehicles and advised visitors of the benefits of running cars on natural gas and biogas.
Gasmobil demonstrated the lowest priced model in this category, the Fiat Panda Natural Power (costing 19,000 Swiss francs - Lm5,000), directly from the factory and for the first time on the Swiss market. It also presented, in addition to a luxury model from Mercedes (E200 NGT), the Opel Corsa CNG and the Ford Focus Tournier, both powered by natural gas.
While pointing out that there were at the moment 3,500 gas-powered cars on the Swiss roads, Gasmobil also included on its Stand cars for everyone's wishes, like the spacious people carriers, the Opel Zafira CNG and the VW Touran Ecofuel.
In the established small car sector, the gas-powered Citroen C3 was also featured on this stand.
According to information given out by Gasmobil, there are now 85 natural gas and biogas filling stations in Switzerland and this is on the increase. For the reader who is not too familiar with the new terms, it may be useful to briefly point out that natural gas is friendly to the environment since it produces lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and has no effect on climate change.
Biogas is CO2 neutral. Gas-powered cars can run on either natural gas or biogas and also have a petrol tank for emergencies. In Malta we may be familiar with LPG, which has nothing to do with CNG, which is methane, while LPG is liquid petroleum gas. These two fuels are not compatible and require different engine development technology.
First World presentation
From over 55 cars in this category, the Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4 JTD, the Audi A5, the BMW Alpina B3 and B5, the new Ford Mondeo, the Jaguars XJR and XKR, the Mini One and Cooper D, stood out and always had a crowd around them.
Both Saab and VW presented new, environmentally friendly models in this category with the Saab 9-3 Biopower and 9-5 Concept E100 and VW Passat Bluemotion. On the higher end, Maserati introduced the Pininfarina-designed GranTurismo.
There was also interest in the only Russian entry in this category with the Russo-Baltique, a four-seat coupé with a V12 engine boasting 555hp.
First European presentation
China enters Europe through this year's Geneva auto show with its Brilliance BS4 and BS6, already in production and expected to be available in Europe by the middle of this year. The Chinese also exhibited the BC3 concept car, introduced earlier in Beijing as the M3.
The BS4 is a lower-medium saloon to compete with the Citroen C4 and the Ford Focus. The larger BS6 comes with a 2.0-litre or a 2.4-litre engine and aims to compete with models like the Mitsubishi Galant, the Kia Magentis and Hyundai Lantra.
Other models receiving their first European presentation included the Daihatsu Cuore, the Suzuki SX4 Sedan and the Hummer H3, brought down to a size more familiar in Europe.
First Swiss presentation
Three Chevrolets (Lacetti 1800 CNG, Epica VCDi LT and Nubira Station Wagon 1800 CNG), three Jaguars (S-Type, X-Type and XJ, all anniversary models), three Suzukis (Jimny, Swift Sport and Grand Vitara) and four Chryslers (Sebring, Calibre R/T, Nitro and Wrangler) dominate this category.
Also, for the first time in Switzerland Smart introduced the new ForTwo with important modifications. According to the official brochure, the new Smart ForTwo comes with even higher standards, optimised running gear, a longer wheel base and a slightly larger body. It is also more environmentally friendly than earlier models. (My wife drives an original model Smart and is eager to try the new model).
Largest exhibitors
Audi (18), Opel (32), Volkswagen (25), Honda (21), Toyota (25), Ford (19), Mazda (18), BMW (40), Citroën (18), Mercedes (26) and Peugeot (26), with the number of models at the show in brackets, continue to be the largest exhibitors.
There was quite a large selection of small cars ideally suited for a small country like Malta. Some of these include the 3.8-metre long Daihatsu Materia, which seats five people, the Fiat Panda, the Daihatsu Cuore and the Smart ForTwo, mentioned earlier.
The Renault Twingo, still a prototype, looks like it may be worth waiting for. The Minis, One and Cooper versions, are of course always exciting. The all-electric Reva Greeny, a 2+2, with an Indian pedigree, weighs 150 kg and has a range of 140 km on one charge. It is certainly worth noting.
The prototype of a future Suzuki city car, named only Project Flash, appears to be a winner, although its specifications were not announced at the show (picture).
Some spectacular models
A show like Geneva must also boast some spectacular entries. The Maserati GranTurismo, mentioned earlier, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage were two such entries. The Jaguar Concept C-XF created quite a stir and so did the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the latter with an eight-cylinder, 4.7-litre 450 bhp engine.
Accessories
Auto equipment and accessories manufacturers come in large numbers to promote their latest developments and products and, like last year, there were quite a number of alloy wheels, specialised tyres for 4x4 vehicles and other high performance tyres.
Audio and video installations and navigations systems were again very popular and seemed to attract good crowds.
The globalisation of the auto industry continues unabated like no other industry I know of. To take one example, I chose the stand of VW with about 25 cars on show. These cars were produced in Spain, Germany, Mexico, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia.
This was not the exception but rather the rule. Opel, for example, had its 32 cars in this show produced in Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Korea, USA and UK.
To a lesser extent, the Asian giants also had cars produced in France, Czech Republic, England, Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia.
Others were exhibited for the first time in Europe and were referred to as the First European Presentation and those that were seen for the first time in Switzerland as the First Swiss Presentation. There were more than 130 from the about 900 cars that fell under these categories.
In addition, a number of models by various manufacturers included important modifications of a detail or technical innovations. Some of the highlights in the various categories of innovations are described below.
Over 730,700 visitors - the second highest in its history - went to the show, which started on March 8. This year the 252 exhibitors requested over 84,000 m2 of exhibition space but had to settle for part of the 77,000 m2 available in the expansive Palexpo Exhibition Centre next to Geneva Airport, where seven halls were turned into one enormous space filled with an impressive number of cars as far as the eyes could see.
The organisers this year pointed out that the show required about 3,000 people working 450,000 hours to set up the venue. Universities and colleges in and around Geneva supply hundreds of students to play hosts and answer questions from the hundreds of thousands of visitors during the two-week period of the show.
The advantages of this giant endeavour spill beyond Palexpo to the city of Geneva and beyond. Restaurants and other businesses work at full capacity, as do the numerous hotels in Geneva and its surroundings.
The trend emphasised last year during the show for alternative fuels continued this year with some more urgency. The number of cars that run on new fuels nearly doubled since the last show. There was an increase in the number of hybrid cars powered by natural gas or bio ethanol from the major manufacturers. In spite of these green developments, over 90 per cent of the cars on show this year were still powered by petrol or diesel.
The Swiss natural gas industry (Gasmobil), like last year, demonstrated a selection of the latest gas-powered vehicles and advised visitors of the benefits of running cars on natural gas and biogas.
Gasmobil demonstrated the lowest priced model in this category, the Fiat Panda Natural Power (costing 19,000 Swiss francs - Lm5,000), directly from the factory and for the first time on the Swiss market. It also presented, in addition to a luxury model from Mercedes (E200 NGT), the Opel Corsa CNG and the Ford Focus Tournier, both powered by natural gas.
While pointing out that there were at the moment 3,500 gas-powered cars on the Swiss roads, Gasmobil also included on its Stand cars for everyone's wishes, like the spacious people carriers, the Opel Zafira CNG and the VW Touran Ecofuel.
In the established small car sector, the gas-powered Citroen C3 was also featured on this stand.
According to information given out by Gasmobil, there are now 85 natural gas and biogas filling stations in Switzerland and this is on the increase. For the reader who is not too familiar with the new terms, it may be useful to briefly point out that natural gas is friendly to the environment since it produces lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and has no effect on climate change.
Biogas is CO2 neutral. Gas-powered cars can run on either natural gas or biogas and also have a petrol tank for emergencies. In Malta we may be familiar with LPG, which has nothing to do with CNG, which is methane, while LPG is liquid petroleum gas. These two fuels are not compatible and require different engine development technology.
First World presentation
From over 55 cars in this category, the Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4 JTD, the Audi A5, the BMW Alpina B3 and B5, the new Ford Mondeo, the Jaguars XJR and XKR, the Mini One and Cooper D, stood out and always had a crowd around them.
Both Saab and VW presented new, environmentally friendly models in this category with the Saab 9-3 Biopower and 9-5 Concept E100 and VW Passat Bluemotion. On the higher end, Maserati introduced the Pininfarina-designed GranTurismo.
There was also interest in the only Russian entry in this category with the Russo-Baltique, a four-seat coupé with a V12 engine boasting 555hp.
First European presentation
China enters Europe through this year's Geneva auto show with its Brilliance BS4 and BS6, already in production and expected to be available in Europe by the middle of this year. The Chinese also exhibited the BC3 concept car, introduced earlier in Beijing as the M3.
The BS4 is a lower-medium saloon to compete with the Citroen C4 and the Ford Focus. The larger BS6 comes with a 2.0-litre or a 2.4-litre engine and aims to compete with models like the Mitsubishi Galant, the Kia Magentis and Hyundai Lantra.
Other models receiving their first European presentation included the Daihatsu Cuore, the Suzuki SX4 Sedan and the Hummer H3, brought down to a size more familiar in Europe.
First Swiss presentation
Three Chevrolets (Lacetti 1800 CNG, Epica VCDi LT and Nubira Station Wagon 1800 CNG), three Jaguars (S-Type, X-Type and XJ, all anniversary models), three Suzukis (Jimny, Swift Sport and Grand Vitara) and four Chryslers (Sebring, Calibre R/T, Nitro and Wrangler) dominate this category.
Also, for the first time in Switzerland Smart introduced the new ForTwo with important modifications. According to the official brochure, the new Smart ForTwo comes with even higher standards, optimised running gear, a longer wheel base and a slightly larger body. It is also more environmentally friendly than earlier models. (My wife drives an original model Smart and is eager to try the new model).
Largest exhibitors
Audi (18), Opel (32), Volkswagen (25), Honda (21), Toyota (25), Ford (19), Mazda (18), BMW (40), Citroën (18), Mercedes (26) and Peugeot (26), with the number of models at the show in brackets, continue to be the largest exhibitors.
There was quite a large selection of small cars ideally suited for a small country like Malta. Some of these include the 3.8-metre long Daihatsu Materia, which seats five people, the Fiat Panda, the Daihatsu Cuore and the Smart ForTwo, mentioned earlier.
The Renault Twingo, still a prototype, looks like it may be worth waiting for. The Minis, One and Cooper versions, are of course always exciting. The all-electric Reva Greeny, a 2+2, with an Indian pedigree, weighs 150 kg and has a range of 140 km on one charge. It is certainly worth noting.
The prototype of a future Suzuki city car, named only Project Flash, appears to be a winner, although its specifications were not announced at the show (picture).
Some spectacular models
A show like Geneva must also boast some spectacular entries. The Maserati GranTurismo, mentioned earlier, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage were two such entries. The Jaguar Concept C-XF created quite a stir and so did the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the latter with an eight-cylinder, 4.7-litre 450 bhp engine.
Accessories
Auto equipment and accessories manufacturers come in large numbers to promote their latest developments and products and, like last year, there were quite a number of alloy wheels, specialised tyres for 4x4 vehicles and other high performance tyres.
Audio and video installations and navigations systems were again very popular and seemed to attract good crowds.
The globalisation of the auto industry continues unabated like no other industry I know of. To take one example, I chose the stand of VW with about 25 cars on show. These cars were produced in Spain, Germany, Mexico, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia.
This was not the exception but rather the rule. Opel, for example, had its 32 cars in this show produced in Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Korea, USA and UK.
To a lesser extent, the Asian giants also had cars produced in France, Czech Republic, England, Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia.