Όπως ανακοίνωσε το Center for Automotive Management, τόσο το Volkswagen Group όσο και η Mercedes-Benz ανακοινώθηκαν ως οι πιο καινοτόμες εταιρίες για το 2013. Το VW Group παίρνει το βραβείο για 4η συνεχόμενη χρονιά, μιας και μέσα στο 2013, η VW εισήγαγε 230 καινοτομίες σε όλες τις μάρκες του. Επίσης το Volkswagen Group πήρε τα βραβεία στις κατηγορίες “Conventional drives”, “Alternative drives” και “Networked vehicle” λόγω των Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid, Volkswagen e-up! και e-Golf.
Από τη μεριά της η Mercedes-Benz έχει πάρει το σχετικό βραβείο στις κατηγορίες “Most innovative group”, “Vehicle concepts” και “Safety Systems”, ενώ έχει συγκεντρώσει και τη μεγαλύτερη βαθμολογία στην έρευνα AutomotiveINNOVATIONS με 1710 μονάδες. Τα πιο καινοτόμα οχήματα της είναι τα C-Class, E-Class, S-Class.
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VOLKSWAGEN RECOGNISED AGAIN AS MOST INNOVATIVE AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY
Three other awards in “Conventional drives”, “Alternative drives” and “Networked vehicle” categories
Wolfsburg, May 2014 – Technical innovations by Volkswagen not only impress award committees and automotive journalists on a regular basis; they also impress the Center of Automotive Management (CAM). In its latest independent analysis, it rated the Wolfsburg-based company a winner in no less than four categories. The main award of the 2014 AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards, which is the award in the category of “Most innovative automotive company”, went to Volkswagen for the fourth consecutive time. The company was also named the world’s best manufacturer in the “Conventional drives”, “Alternative drives” and “Networked vehicle” categories. The award, which has become a mainstay in the industry, was presented to Dirk Isgen, Head of Development Concepts, today in Frankfurt.
In a CAM study conducted in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) AG WPG, the Volkswagen Group was named the world’s most innovative automotive company once again this year. For years now, the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS study has been identifying future trends and innovation profiles of global automotive companies based on technical innovations in vehicles. In their official rationale for selecting Volkswagen for the most innovative company award, CAM and PwC stated: “The number of innovations at the company further increased to nearly 230 this year. Volkswagen impressed us with an enormous range of innovations in all technological fields and with several highly innovative brands in the Group.”
The Volkswagen Group also secured the award for best manufacturer in the “Conventional drives” category. The study praised such optimisation measures as downsizing in combination with turbocharging and cylinder deactivation. 50 per cent of powertrain innovations also enabled early fulfilment of the EU6 emissions standard.
The Volkswagen Group won in the “Alternative drives” category as well. Along with hybrid models from Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen, the Group also offers numerous natural gas powered models. The study also noted that the Group had launched extremely energy-efficient all-electric cars during the evaluation period in the form of the e-up! (1) and the e-Golf (2). The study identified the most powerful innovation as the Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid (3), which is the first plug-in hybrid in the premium class.
The CAM study emphasised that the trend towards networking is driven by the broader range of electric car products. The role of the Volkswagen Group as a frontrunner in the “Networked vehicle” category was also verified in the study: “Volkswagen has introduced a very large number of innovations with 62 innovations this year, which is twice as many as in the prior year. An example is that electric cars can now be monitored and programmed remotely. Live traffic services also continue to make their way into the various vehicle classes.”
The Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch-Gladbach is an independent institute for empirical research on automotive and mobility issues, and it conducts the extensive study together with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) AG WPG. This year’s analysis covered 18 global automotive companies and a total of 53 brands.
(1) e-up! power consumption in kWh/100 km: 11.7 (combined); CO2 emission in g/km: 0 (combined); efficiency class: A+
(2) e-Golf power consumption in kWh/100 km: 12.7 (combined); CO2 emission in g/km: 0 (combined); efficiency class: A+
(3) Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid fuel consumption in l/100 km: 3,1 (combined), power consumption in kWh/100km: 16,2 (combined), CO2-Emission in g/km: 71 (combined), efficiency class: A+
AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2014: Mercedes-Benz is the most innovative
A comprehensive study by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) and the Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) consultancy has revealed Mercedes-Benz to be the most innovative automobile brand, thanks to a wealth of innovations. Daimler has also won the competition as the “Most innovative group” in the “Vehicle concepts” and “Safety systems” categories. The presentation ceremony for the “AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards 2014” took place as part of a gala on 8 May 2014 in Frankfurt/Main.
“With almost 170 index points, Mercedes-Benz demonstrates by far the highest innovative strength, even attaining the highest brand ranking in the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS survey. The three most innovative models also come from Mercedes-Benz, in the guise of the S-, E- and C-Class,” notes Prof Dr Stefan Bratzel from the CAM.
“The love of invention never dies” was the motto of Carl Benz, one of our founding fathers. Today, innovations are a more important success factor than ever before,” said Prof Dr Thomas Weber, member of the board of management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, at the symposium before the award ceremony. “The diverse challenges of the future can only be addressed successfully by innovations which are swiftly introduced into the vehicle in all relevant fields.”
The innovations for which Mercedes-Benz received the “Automotive INNOVATIONS Award 2014” include the “suspension with eyes” – MAGIC BODY CONTROL, DISTRONIC PLUS Traffic Jam Vehicle Follow Assist and the Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID model.
Exemplary aerodynamics and numerous safety innovations also saw Daimler win the competition as the “Most innovative group” in the “Vehicle concepts” and “Safety systems” categories. The S- and GLA-Class offer leading aerodynamic values in their respective classes; and the CLA-Class has even set a world record for series production automobiles as the BlueEFFICIENCY Edition with a drag coefficient of Cd= 0.22 and a drag area of 0.49 m2. The award-winning new safety features include BAS PLUS Brake Assist featuring a function to recognise crossing traffic, Night View Assist Plus, which is able to recognise both people and animals, and PRE-SAFE® PLUS. This system sees Daimler broadening the established occupant protection measures to include dangerous situations resulting from following traffic.
“Daimler is rolling out its innovations in other segment categories even more quickly than before,” said Prof Dr Bratzel in praise of the brand.” Around the same number of innovations for accident-free driving – 19 in all – are to be found in the E- and C-Class.”
Comprehensive innovation database: Center of Automotive Management
The basis for decisions on the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award is provided by a study founded on the innovation database of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach. For the ninth year in succession, the automotive innovations of 18 global automobile groups comprising 52 brands have been systematically surveyed and assessed according to quantitative and qualitative criteria.
Innovations are defined as new developments which offer tangible additional customer benefits. The innovations must be already available or they must at least have been presented in developed prototypes.
The CAM operates as an independent institute for empirical automobile and mobility research and for strategic consulting. The director of the CAM is Prof Dr Stefan Bratzel, who founded the institute in April 2004.
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