In view of SUV discussion, announced protests for the weekend and a massive loss of exhibitors, the fate of the auto show IAA is more than questionable. In 2019, however, a number of automobile innovations were still basking in the limelight as ever. Five reporters, who were traveling to Frankfurt for the SPIEGEL, say what they liked best - and which IAA innovations have failed completely.
By Martin Wittler:
Top: Byton M-byte
Martin Wittler
Many manufacturers have already presented smart electric car studies at the IAA. The Chinese automaker Byton has succeeded in the electric SUV M-Byte to transfer the charm of the study in the production car. The M-Byte, which celebrated its world premiere at the exhibition in hall 8, shows how a modern car can look from the inside. A 48-inch screen - that's 1.25 meters - covers the entire vehicle width and replaces the classic dashboard. The screen can be operated via two tablet computers. One is integrated in the steering wheel, the other positioned between the center armrest and center console. 45,000 euros to cost Byton's first car. Too bad that the car will not come to Europe until two years.
Flop: Porsche Taycan
Martin Wittler
The birth of Porsches first pure electric car took four years. From the study E presented in 2015, the Taycan, who now stands in Hall 3 at the IAA. Porsche threw in the run so just with superlatives around itself: more than 700 hp, in 2.8 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h, 26 accelerations from zero to 200 km / h with a battery charge. That stoked high expectations. It is a pity that they are disappointed at the sight of the Taycan at the exhibition stand. From the front, the e-sports car is reminiscent of a crying Orka. Some body styles seem so random that one wonders how the professional designer could happen. No good omen for a car with a starting price of around 150,000 euros.
By Jürgen Pander
Top: tires with automatic air pressure
Jürgen Pander
For some innovations, one wonders why one has come up with it now. For example, at the wheel prototype on the stand of the supplier Continental in the IAA Hall 8. The idea: Two small pumps in the rim absorb air at every acceleration of the car between 20 and 45 km / h. This works purely mechanically via the centrifugal force. The sucked air (up to 7 bar) can either be fed directly into the tire or into a mini compressed air tank in the wheel. Either way: With this so-called "pressure proofing technology", the tire inflation pressure can always be in the ideal range being held. Also, says Continental, is a measure to save CO2, because many vehicles are with too little tire inflation pressure on the road, which increases the rolling resistance and thus the fuel consumption. Whether and when the new technology goes into production is not yet clear. Until then, drivers should continue to regularly check the air pressure themselves.
Flop: Mercedes Vision EQS
Jürgen Pander
Studies are for auto foods, which is the icing on the cake: a blob of extra appeal. At the IAA Mercedes announced the study Vision EQS accordingly. The car gives "a view of a new dimension of sustainable luxury", his "fluid tension" is style-defining for "the design philosophy Progressive Luxury". Then you stand in front of a huge, completely contourless vehicle, the exterior of which is particularly noticeable by 188 single LED on the front of the vehicle and 229 Leuchtsternchen the rear. Refined lighting design as a vision of the future? The worst: There is an electric drive underneath, so there would be plenty of freedom to make proportions new, more modest, more creative, more interesting. But no, the essentials remain the same - only the decoration is more complex. And as evidence of alleged sustainability, it is enough for Mercedes to "add" a few grams of plastic waste from the sea into the textile lining of the headliner. Sky!
By Thomas Geiger:
Top: Honda E
Tom Greenway
He looks as if he is from yesterday and holds the technology of the future. With the handy Honda E now turns the world's largest combustion engine manufacturer on the Electric Avenue. What inspires the car almost more than the charming retro design for the body, the modern interior and the tremendous fun driving, this is the quiet way in which Honda presents the car. The Japanese do not go into the race for the longest range, but leave it at modest but affordable 200 kilometers. And above all, the manufacturer ignites any PR thunderstorms: Honda does not want to save the world, but just sell a new car. Likeable.
Flop: Lamborghini Sian
Tom Greenway
Actually, you have to love the Lamborghini Sian as Petrolhead - after all, the small series derived from the Aventador is one of the last supercars to dare to go to the IAA. 819 hp make him on top of that to date the strongest Lamborghini in the company's history and more than 350 km / h top to a temptation for the full-throttle fraction. But from a technical point of view, this Tiefflieger is a disappointment and as a green fig leaf a pretty faded matter. Because flanging an electric starter generator on the V12 engine and celebrating it as a departure into electric mobility is a hopeless exaggeration. After all, the 34 hp of the electric motor not even make up five percent of the total output, the Lamborghini can not drive electrically and the 2.8 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h are achieved by the sharpest Aventador without the electric auxiliary motor. As the driver benefits even more from the power windows. Not that you have to electrify every car. But if so, then please.
From Michael Specht :
Top: Mercedes GLE 350 de
Michael Specht
So far, most plug-in hybrids are electrically limp after 30 or 40 kilometers. Battery is empty, the internal combustion engine starts. This short distance is too little for many drivers, it hardly reaches the office and back home. According to Andreas Zygan, the head of the line, the GLE de can easily reach 70 to 80 kilometers in everyday life. Combined is the 100 kW electric motor with a two-liter four-cylinder diesel engine (150 kW). The system power is 235 kW. The GLE 350 de is also the only plug-in hybrid, whose battery can be "refueled" with up to 60 kW charging power. After 30 minutes, the battery is full again. The part-time Stromer will be on the market at the end of this year. A precise price reveals Mercedes not yet, but it should be at the level of the six-cylinder model GLE 350 d, ie at 70,000 euros.
Flop: Honda e
Michael Specht
Pity Honda, missed opportunity. Good design is not the strength of the Japanese brand, you just have to look at the jagged Civic as an example. The car world was all the more surprised when Honda launched the small electric car study Urban EV two years ago. Wow! Clean, cool, purist. This e-car could also have come from the design department of Apple, so judged the experts. However, then how to disfigure the production version, called Honda e, will remain a mystery to many, once potential customers. The cute proportions are gone, the wheels too small, the look simply boring. In addition, the Honda e cost 33,850 euros not just a little, at least if you put that in relation to its size and range. The latter is only 200 kilometers. A VW e-up! costs about 35 percent less and continues for another 60 kilometers.
By Christian Frahm:
Top: Opel Corsa e
Christian Frahm
Opel shows at the IAA the electric version of the compact car Corsa. While Porsche, Audi or Mercedes at the neighboring stands at the IAA the principle of electric mobility with powerful sports cars or sprintstarken hybrid SUV ad absurdum, Opel has understood the principle of e-mobility. The Corsa e has 135 e-horsepower, a 50-kilowatt battery for 330 kilometers range and costs 29,900 euros. "The Corsa-e is the electric car for everyone - fully suitable for everyday use and absolutely affordable," says Opel boss Michael Lohscheller describes the concept in terms of e-mobility drives Opel before.
Flop: Wey X
Christian Frahm / SPIEGEL ONLINE
At the IAA, the Wey brand shows its vision of the mobility of the future with the Wey X study. The shimmering in mother of pearl, more than 5 meters long SUV giant is anything but timely. While the Chinese swear by huge cars, getting through in many German cities with the Wey X would be virtually impossible. CEO Jack Wey is nevertheless pleased that the brand in China has risen to become a premium manufacturer within two years. 300,000 vehicles were sold during this time. Encouraged by this success, Wey also wants to conquer the German market. This dazzling nightmare sounds more like a threat. As if we did not already have enough choice of thirsty would-be SUVs. Flop!
