PARIS: Carmakers gathered last week at the opening of the Paris Motor Show hoping the huge Asian market will let them put the crisis behind them as they premiere dozens of models and a bevy of electric cars ready to hit the road. More than 300 companies from across the world are represented at the two-week exhibition that began with two days of press previews and a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. More than a million visitors are expected to flock to the exhibition halls to ogle gleaming vehicles and see for themselves the latest automotive innovations.
Cars, cars, cars
Glamour comes in the form of Ferrari’s droptop SA Aperta—just 80 models will be built—and French carmakers Renault and Citroen’s showcasing of cars they built in partnership with fashion brands Lacoste and Miss Sixty. Peugeot, also French, features its upgrade for its 407 and 508 models while Mercedes-Benz unveils its new CLS that mixes coupe styling with the four doors of a sedan. Vauxhall shows off its GTC Paris Concept.
Also drawing stares at the show are Kia’s three-seat electric Pop concept that has “butterfly-wing” doors and Ford’s new Focus ST model.
Emerging markets
The economic crisis savaged the car industry and it is now setting its sights on emerging markets like China to compensate for the stagnating sales and fierce competition in Europe. But it is “still much too soon” to say that the crisis is behind us, said Mark Fulthorpe, an analyst with CSM Worldwide consultants.
With government “cash for clunkers” schemes coming to an end, “the economic fundamentals are not sufficient to convince people to buy cars,” Fulthorpe said.
European carmakers are expecting a drop of 7 percent in sales this year. But car sales in China are continuing to rise rapidly, making it the biggest market in the world and the new hope for the car industry.
“Europe and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the keys to the market,” said Bertrand Rakoto, an analyst with RL Polk. “In Europe, carmakers have to defend their positions, and in the BRICs, they have to work out what are the right vehicles for those markets,” he said.
Plugging in
Electric cars are the stars of the show in Paris. Renault is presenting the electric Fluence ZE sedan and its Kangoo Express ZE van, which are expected to go on sale next year, and the company is set to unveil a near-final version of its flagship Zoe model.
PSA is displaying the Peugeot Ion and Citroen C-Zero, derived from the Mitsubishi i-Miev, and Nissan will be showing off its Leaf sedan.
“We have now moved from electric concept cars to cars you can actually buy,” said Carlos da Silva of IHS Global Insight. “Paris is the first car show in the world where there really will be five or six electric cars you can choose from.”
Along with electric cars, manufacturers are continuing to develop hybrids, with PSA due to bring out a diesel-electric hybrid next year. But improving traditional engines remains a major goal.
Innovations that can reduce motor size without also reducing performance result in cars like the two-cylinder TwinAir Turbo that Fiat is showcasing.
“New technologies are the tip of the iceberg, but in fact what continues to sell and what makes up the bulk of sales are traditional cars,” said da Silva.
