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MAIN HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTORSHOW 2016

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Around 150 World, European & Swiss premieres and dozens of other stellar offerings were under the spotlight at this Geneva International motor show. The Volvo S90, Skoda C-SUV, Alfa Giulia, Audi Q2 and in the luxury segment, the Maserati Levante and Porsche 718 Boxster are a few examples.

It is obvious that the car of today has evolved greatly in the last decade. Indeed, four main trends may be established: Electric mobility, Automated Driving, Connected Car & Custom Car.

Electric Mobility : in the past, electric cars were considered like a “Niche Market”. Now we see that this trends is about to be reversed..

Among others, we could discover the Hyundai Ioniq, the legendary Citroën Mehari, the Mitsubishi eX Concept, one of the future electric crossover but also the BUDD-e inspired by the iconic Microbus and powered by a pure-electric powertrain.

Automated Driving: a major worldwide regulatory milestone towards the deployment of automated vehicle technologies was achieved on the 23rd of March 2016. Indeed, as of that date, automated driving technologies that transfer driving tasks to the vehicle is explicitly allowed in traffic, provided that these technologies are in conformity with the United Nations vehicle regulations or can be overridden or switched off by the driver.

In the semi-autonomous driving system field, the Volvo S90 makes a noteworthy entering into the E-segment with emphasis put on elegance, comfort, luxury and supreme quality.

In the concept car range, the Shiwa is to be noticed: a noiseless zero emissions self-driving which shows an external structure inspired by an origami idea.

Connected Cars: the topic has become "mainstream". Today, an overwhelming majority - if not all - of manufacturers offer features for connectivity. Each brand proposes its own connectivity system: Ford has its SYNC3, Renault its R-Link 2, VW Car-Net and BMW Connected Drive. We could as well notice some key innovation partnerships, for example the one of Ferrari with Bosch and Apple.

Custom Car: more and more brands offer now such customization types as color, mirrors, roof, black brightworks. Today, in terms of finishes, nothing is imposed, everything is proposed. The slogan is “everyone does as he pleases with his car.” One trend stands out on most of the car bodies: the shiny and large black brightworks associated with a flashy car body color.

As the world’s most influential motor show, Geneva is in a unique position to act as a barometer for the industry. It is a regular point where we can take stock and look at the bigger picture in what are particularly turbulent times for the world of cars.