The Geneva Salon is canceled due to the corona virus, but the auto industry is still presenting its innovations: on the Internet. The overview of the most important premieres of the car spring.
Berlin (dpa / tmn) - A perfect start to the new PS season looks different. As if the car world hadn't suffered enough from the bad mood and the requirements for CO2 emissions, the innovative corona virus is now beating the industry's big spring party in Geneva. The salon was canceled shortly before the opening last week.
Many premieres in the compact class
But because the business has to go on, the manufacturers have often put the planned premieres on the Internet. There is no shortage of new products with current series references. Many of the prevented Geneva premieres fall into the compact class. In the slipstream of the new Golf, the VW subsidiaries also bring the next generation of their models.
At Audi everything revolves around the new A3, at Seat at the Leon and at Skoda at the Octavia. And because some of these models were unveiled weeks ago in a small circle, there is now a tailwind again with new sports versions: the Leon in the Cupra sports version, but for the first time as a plug-in hybrid - just like the Skoda Octavia RS with socket.
Another new addition to the still high-volume class is the refreshed Hyundai i30. And if you need more space in the same area, VW will lure you with a new Caddy that is closer to the Golf in terms of drive and equipment than ever before. A class below hereby announce new editions of Toyota Yaris and Hyundai i20.
Electrification in all classes
In the boom segment of SUVs, Kia wants to provide impulses with a new edition of the Sorento. And Cupra, emancipated from Seat as an independent subsidiary, is launching the Formentor, its first model, a compact SUV.
In addition to the many innovations, there are numerous electrified engine variants for models that are already on the market: Mercedes offers a plug-in hybrid for the CLA variants Coupé and Shooting Break as well as the compact SUV GLA. BMW brings three new socket versions for the 3 Series, and the Renault Twingo becomes a purely electric car.
The spring start of the PS industry looks sober and sensible. However, in the tradition of Geneva, the fun with the horsepower does not fall by the wayside, although in view of the climate crisis this seems to be out of date.
Top performance as an old tradition
Porsche launches a 911 Turbo S with 478 kW / 650 PS, McLaren wants to score with the extreme Roadster Elva without windscreen and a 496 kW / 675 PS long-tail model of the Super Series. Alfa Romeo hits the same notch on the occasion of the 110th company birthday. The Giulia model comes in a GTA version with 397 kW / 540 PS, only 500 copies are built.
However, the PS industry also knows that it cannot survive with conventional models alone. That is why manufacturers are underpinning the will to change with studies that are sustainable and innovative, but above all electric.
Tesla fighter and price breaker
In some cases, they look years ahead like Renault with the Morphoz, which can be lengthened at the push of a button and with space for another battery, from city car to long-distance car. Hyundai is similarly imaginative with the 2 + 2-seater Prophecy, which can only be controlled by joystick.
While this sounds like a dream of the future, BMW wants to use the i4 to make e-mobility even more suitable for everyday use: with a promised 600 km range, the concept could become a Tesla fighter as a production model.
In contrast, Dacia plans to make e-mobility affordable - with an electric small car for little more than 10,000 euros. The Dacia is also officially still a concept and, like the i4, will be shown as a production version next year. Whether at a trade fair, that cannot be said exactly these days.
