The car. innovative by nature

摘要

Ecological consciousness is certainly gaining ground at the car manufacturers. From now on all new models arriving on the market must have reduced fuel consumption and emissions compared with their predecessors. The movement is generalised and there was not a single stand, apart from those of the co-achbuilders and the designers, which did not display one or more 'virtuous' models. There is no longer any question of leaving the field open to Toyota and its Prius, whose European sales again increased by 40% in 2007, to 32,000 units. "By 2009, we reckon that Prius sales have more than doubled", warned Andrea Formica, Senior Vice-President of Toyota Motor Europe during the show. Katsuaki Watanabe, President of the Japanese car manufacturer "even hopes to offer a hybrid version of each of its models by 2020". The research to ensure the environmental excellence of the final product is developing in several directions. First of all, it is expressed in the design. The more powerful models are becoming more streamlined with evermore sloping front ends to improve their aerodynamics, even if this means losing a little of their brand identity. The vehicle weight is again becoming a priority. The Ford group stood out in this respect.