Since making its debut in 1971, the Automechanika has developed into one of the most important meeting places for decision makers from the automobile sector.

Here you will find news of our Automechanika 2008 exhibitors. The information about offers made by exhibitors makes no claim to be complete. It is based on details supplied by the companies for this information service. The order and scope of the information does not represent any standards of value by which these exhibits can or should be judged.

source from: http://www.news-messefrankfurt.com/automechanika/index.php?sprache=eng&start=0

The staff of Markwell will atten this exhibition to collect more information for the markets of the world. Our customers are very welcome to see more and discuss some information with us for new items which are AUTO market needs.

Central Europe’s most prestigious automotive event for years, AUTOTEC 2008 has reinforced its position as one of the world’s TOP 3 automotive trade fairs. Innovations in the production of trucks and commercial vehicles, trailers, parts and service technology were presented by 604 exhibitors from a record-breaking 26 countries over 72,583 square metres of exhibition area.

Reuters is running a series of commentaries from auto industry observers about what cars and the industry will look like in 10 years. The following article by Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com, was published on July 31, 2008.

The size, shape, and primary attributes of a 2018 model American car will bear little resemblance to today's vehicles. The most visible signs of a car revolution already in the works can be seen today in the shift from large SUVs and trucks to small cars—and the growing popularity of gas-electric hybrids. But there's something more transformative at play. By 2018, the American love affair with the car will become platonic.

Sure, you might still adore your car, but with the lusty "need for speed" tied up in gigahertz instead of get-up-and-go. Your car, reborn as a personal mobility appliance, will be more about what it can do, and less about stimulating your senses.

The price of a gallon of gas in 2018 will make you remember $4 gas with nostalgia. Smaller will be inherently better. Minicars will become common in U.S. cities, just as $10 gas makes them popular in Europe and Asia today. But these small cars will be big with creature comforts and gizmos. In fact, the car itself will become one big gizmo. That's already evident in the Toyota Prius's joystick shifter and touch-screen dash monitor, and the all-electric Tesla Roadster, which uses almost 6,000 commodity batteries—each the size of a AA flashlight battery —to deliver the two-seater's racecar-like performance. Electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids with varying degrees of battery storage, will own much of the market. Battery packs will become a commonplace primary or secondary "tank" used to store electric fuel that emit no tailpipe emissions.

The marketplace itself will go digital. Forget broadcast TV spots sending scattershot messages to mostly disinterested viewers. "Imagine auto marketing going on steroids in terms of its ability to reach owners and prospects," said Lonnie Miller at auto market intelligence firm R. L. Polk & Company. "Web 2.0 will long be a thing of the past. Web 5.0 will be in front of us with customer-driven advertising reaching all available outlets known to them in ways we really cannot imagine now."

The personal mobility appliance will zip along an increasingly networked roadway. Wired and wireless cyber networks will improve safety. "Artificial intelligence via distributed computing power will be embedded in the cars and the roads, bridges, and other infrastructure," said Walter McManus, an auto economist at the University of Michigan. "One day the system will become self-aware and kill us all."

McManus is being facetious, but in fact, the transition to this new way of motoring will be a matter of life and death—for car companies. John DeCicco, an automotive strategist at Environmental Defense, expects that some auto companies will cling to "traditional measures of mobility"—horsepower, size, and 4-wheel drive—while others will embrace the attributes of what he calls a "post-mobility" age: connectivity, entertainment, information, navigation, safety, and mobile workplace features. This transition will not be complete in 10 years, but it will be in full swing. Companies preparing today to make the switch from "horsepower to gigahertz" will win. The others will go the way of the horse.

It’s been a tough summer for the car business. In July, US auto sales fell to 1,136,539 units—13 percent below July 2007. Analysts are now predicting that the US market will shrink below 13 million vehicles annually, a level not seen since the recession of the early 1990s. Although hybrids fared better than most vehicles, their performance wasn’t stellar. Weak inventories of the Prius led to sales 8 percent below last year. The Camry Hybrid and Ford Escape Hybrid also posted declines from previous year’s levels. Last month’s winners included the Honda Civic Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid—up 38 percent and 14 percent respectively. But neither sells in large enough volumes to move hybrid sales into the black. Overall, hybrid sales fell 7 percent from July 2007, and hybrid models accounted for a modest 2.4 percent of the vehicle market.

By now it’s obvious that carmakers weren’t ready for the major changes that occurred in the economy, fuel prices, and consumer preferences. It’s unclear how long it will take them to adjust. It’s also unclear how hard they are trying. Sales of compact cars like the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, and Ford Focus have risen dramatically, and automakers have done what it takes to keep up with demand. Are hybrids that different?

Sure, hybrids require high-technology components, including expensive nickel-metal-hydride battery packs. But who says extra shifts can’t be added to battery manufacturing lines to increase production, just as overtime has been added at factories that produce fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines in order to put more Yarises, Fits, Versas, and Focuses on dealer lots. Is there something so special about batteries that we can’t make more of them when demand is high?

The underlying issue is that hybrids are not big money-makers for most automakers, so there’s little incentive to ramp up production substantially. GM is a case in point: the company acknowledged last year that it cannot recoup the costs of the two-mode hybrid system used in its Yukon and Tahoe hybrids. Last month in an era of shrinking wealth and rising gas prices, more Bentleys left US showroom than Yukon Hybrids, a testament to GM’s lack of interest in mass-marketing its hybrid SUVs.

But hybrid economics are beginning to change. Honda recently announced that it dramatically lowered the cost of its next-generation hybrid powertrain, and plans much higher production volumes as a result. Toyota, too, may be improving the economics of its hybrid offerings—the company’s decision to use nickel-metal hydride batteries in the next-generation Prius has been criticized by some, but it is a move that will help limit the vehicle’s powertrain cost.

With all the discussion of new technologies like plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, we tend to forget that hybrid vehicles account for a tiny fraction of the vehicles sold in the US. For that to change, supply and demand must converge: consumers must show interest in the vehicles, and manufacturers must be able to sell hybrids profitably. At the moment, consumer interest is healthy, but improvement is needed in hybrid profitability before hybrid sales can really take off.

US Sales

Our information is based on hybrid sales as reported by the manufacturers. For each model, this month's sales are shown compared to sales in the previous month and at the same time last year. We also examine hybrid market share by model and manufacturer. The historical sales graph for top-selling hybrid models shows estimated 2008 volumes based on sales-to-date.

Hybrids sold in the U.S. (July 2008): 26,877

U.S. hybrid sales for July 2008 by manufacturer and model

U.S. hybrid market historical sales (1999 - 2007 with 2008 forecast)

Kicking off what campaign advisors have dubbed "energy week," Barack Obama today called for an "end to the age of oil in our time." He backed up his trademark optimism with the most dramatic auto technology proposals of the 2008 campaign cycle. Obama said he hopes to see 1 million plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by 2015, a number far beyond the most optimistic forecasts. Obama's vision amounts to more than wide-eyed optimism—or generalized political pandering. Details from an eight-page energy fact-sheet the campaign circulated to the media:

• $4 billion in tax credits to American automakers to retool plants for the production of plug-in hybrid cars capable of 150 miles to the gallon.
•  A $7,000 tax credit for consumers who buy early model plug-in vehicles.
• Half of all cars purchased by the federal government will be plug-in hybrids or all-electric by 2012.

The new proposals will be folded into Senator Obama's 10-year, $150 billion energy package, which aims to eliminate American dependence on foreign oil by 2019. Obama's vision for energy independence isn't all green. The most widely reported headline from today's energy speech in Lansing, Mich. was Obama's change of heart about offshore drilling and the release of oil from the strategic energy reserves. Many environmentalists view these compromises as unnecessary and ill-advised, especially considering how much easier it will be to get congressional action on the latter two points of his plan.

Could Obama succeed in bringing about a green-tech revolution? Is it feasible to produce 1 million 150-mpg plug-in hybrids by 2015? Is the $4 billion tax credit tantamount to a corporate giveaway to Detroit automakers which have dragged their heels on hybrid technology? As is usually the case with visions of a more fuel efficient future, there's plenty of room for both optimism and skepticism.