The last Tango in Paris?

The corridors wide and empty, the gaps between the stands as extensive as in the parks in the Champs de Mars, many of the halls and closed off between the big brands dozens of companies, one of which you never heard: Since the crisis in the USA, none of the great fairs was so poor as the Paris Salon this year. The sale figures of the car manufacturer are pleasing and the forecasts are not so bad. Although Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Director of the CAR Institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen, warns: "profit warnings from BMW, Daimler or supplier continental will show that the Big Party does not, within the auto industry a break."

it is something when it comes to electro-mobility moves – not in vain, two new candidates, the saws firmly on the throne of the Tesla stand at the Paris Salon with the Mercedes EQC and the Audi E-Tron. But when nearly a dozen brands have to be cancelled, not just the little ones such as Alfa Romeo, Bentley, or Lamborghini, but big as VW, Ford, Nissan, Fiat, Volvo, or Mazda, then it is airy on the exhibition grounds at Porte de Versailles.

the dawn of the electric age: The Audi E-Tron Quattro. Photo: Reuters

The manufacturers have managed to make it to Paris, show, nevertheless, interesting exhibits. The French brands Shine, especially with future-oriented studies: the Case of Renault, the Autonomous driving is the end of luxury Lounge, EZ-end of the eye-catcher at the booth of Peugeot, it is a fascinatingly beautiful electric coupe in the style of the legendary 504. Citroën and the precious daughter DS to counter these distant dreams with two important series models, which – how could it be otherwise – as an SUV. Citroën launched the C5 Aircross as a charming opponent of Tiguan & co., with a little more class to the smaller DS3 cross back is competing with an extravagant formal language to attention. He is notably the first car out of the PSA group, which is also offered with a purely electric drive.

the French charm offensive is Parried by the German manufacturers. Although VW, Opel and Ford cocks the appearance of His, but Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz to celebrate this Kralbet half-a-dozen firsts in all the classes. Thus, the Ingolstadt with the A1 Sportback and the Q3 is a show of two important high-volume models, puffs with the 300-HP SQ2 their smallest SUV-the series more life and to break with the E-Tron, the electric age. BMW pulls the cloth from the next-Generation of the 3 series, celebrates the premiere of the new X5 and has confirmed the construction of the pure electric i4 by 2021.

convertible without a roof

In the case of Mercedes-Benz the new B-class and the next Generation of GLE to see, especially the electrically driven EQC. "98.3 percent of customers in the EU have decided in the second quarter of this year against the purchase of a pure electric vehicle," said Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche. "With the EQC, we now have a brand new electric Mercedes that is a genuine Alternative to a model with a combustion engine. So, our customers have a fair choice when deciding which Option fits the needs of your daily Mobility."

Pure electric, the future of the subsidiary brand of Smart. And because it takes you to the next novelty for a bit, had the Designer time for Forease that comes as a radical convertible without a roof.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 03.10.2018, 18:00 clock