Motor Shows around the world: What to expect in the upcoming years
Here are some of the latest trends in the industry. Join us as we explore what their implications mean
As technology rapidly advances, the automotive industry is witnessing a revolution in the way it designs, manufactures, and introduces its products to consumers. Over the past year, the world has seen some common trends emerge in the vehicles being introduced.
From electric to autonomous, smaller to bigger, budget friendly to luxury options; automakers have looked for newer ways to appeal to a wider range of customers. Here are some of the latest trends in the industry. Join us as we explore what their implications mean.
Electric Vehicles
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The year 2022 saw a monumental shift in the automobile industry, which will carry over to this year, with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) as established automakers such as Porsche and the new comer heavyweights such as Rivian and Lucid successfully catered to and swayed the traditional petrolheads to an electric future.
Porsche diversified their Taycan lineup with the introduction of the Cross Turismo. Rivian schooled Tesla on how to build an actual and fully functional electric truck, while Lucid literally aired Tesla's dirty laundry with the Lucid Air.
Tesla however carried on with their business as usual with their fastest car, the Plaid. Other popular truck manufacturers such as Ford and Jeep repackaged their ICE offerings with electric motors instead. Hummer even embraced the electric motor with the Hummer EV.
Tokyo Auto Salon: JDMs and tuner culture
The concept of widebody has been widely popular since the very beginning. And no car is exempted from it. January saw the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon and Liberty Walk give birth to a white widebody Ferrari F40. Blasphemous for the Ferrari execs watching, sacreligious for many and a 100% fun for every petrolhead on earth. How Liberty Walk hasn't been hit with the infamous cease and desist letter from Ferrari is still beyond many.
The rest of the Tokyo Auto Salon weekend saw an influx of foreign tourism (since Japan opened up its borders after covid) checking out the local tuning companies and their showcased products for the new GR86/BRZ, Supra and the new Z.
Nissan underwhelmingly renewed the already ageing R35 GTR for another year. Fans had mixed reactions to the facelift to say the least.
China Auto Show 2022: Korean cars steal the show
Over in the East, Chinese cars reportedly accounted for almost half of all new cars unveiled in 2022, according to motor1.com. They accounted for a whopping 47% of the total models introduced. But 2022 was the year for the Koreans.
Genesis took the western market by storm, almost as if they found Toyota and Lexus' playbook for the celsior/LS400. The Genesis G80 and the GV80 were hot on the S Class's heels as consumers gravitated towards the more stylish and more reasonable Genesis instead of paying premium for less with its German competitors.
The GV60, Hyundai IONIQ 5 and the IONIQ 6, along with its N models, and the KIA EV6 GT, genuinely brought innovation and a sense of excitement which most Western automakers lacked for the last decade. This made consumers more accepting of these cars.
Auto Expo 2023: The Southeast Asian attempt at cleaner automobiles
In the Indian subcontinent, Greater Noida of India held their 16th edition of Southeast Asia's largest automotive exhibition, the Auto Expo 2023, after a long hiatus (because of the Covid-19 pandemic).
The Suzuki Jimny/Maruti Jimny received an extra pair of doors, fit for both the Bangladeshi and the Indian market. Hopefully our market will receive the plucky little off roader soon through official dealers. Optimistically we are estimating it to be priced at Tk 40 lakhs, fingers crossed.
Tata wowed visitors with a redesigned electric version of the Harrier and a surprisingly attractive Sierra EV which borrows most of its design cues from the Hummer EV.
Bikes unsurprisingly shared their spotlights as well. Suzuki, Yamaha, Bajaj, TVS and Honda unveiled their range of bikes equipped to run on flex fuel, an alternative mix of cleaner fuel users from Western countries have been taking advantage of for quite a while. These bikes are geared to run on E85 flex fuel which would give them a boost in both performance and efficiency when compared to traditional bikes run on unleaded and leaded petrol.
The local car scene of Bangladesh
The 16th Dhaka Motor Show, which is known to be the largest automobile related event of the country, is scheduled to take place between 16 –18 March. There is also another event called the Dhaka Motor Fest 2023 that will take place at the beginning of next month between 2 to 4 February. We are expecting to see similar trends here as well.
Manufacturers like Audi have already launched the E Tron series in Bangladesh, the automaker's electric vehicle lineup.
Hyundai added itself to the list of car brands that assemble their vehicles in Bangladesh, the first model to be assembled here will be the 2023 Hyundai Creta, priced at Tk 35 lakhs. Hyundai confirmed that its new assembly plant will be able to roll out up to 3,000 units of the Hyundai Creta every year, and they plan to raise this number up to 10,000 units per year.
Uttara Motors, the sole distributor of Suzuki cars, Isuzu, SML Isuzu and Bajaj, have launched the refreshed model of the Suzuki Brezza and is taking preorders for the new Bajaj Pulsar N160.
TBS Picks: Top three automobiles launched in 2022
Liberty Walk Ferrari F40
The white widebody Ferrari F40 showcased at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon might have angered many Ferrari executives watching. Afterall, the Italian supercar maker is known to go as far as to take away cars from curious owners who've dreamt of experimenting with their 'prancing horse' on wheels, both mechanically and aesthetically. How Liberty Walk has managed to convince Ferrari is still beyond many.
Hyundai Genesis G80
The Genesis G80 is the first real competitor of Mercedes' S Class from the East. What the Western car manufacturers have been lacking is the innovation Korean automakers have now become famous for. Consumers now gravitate towards the more stylish and more reasonable Genesis, which has taken inspiration from the first generation Lexus LS-400 and offers greater features without the premium price tag.
TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100
The Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 is the first ever electric two wheeler to come out of an Indian manufacturing plant. The bike packs the same 200cc engine found in the Apache RTR 200, but it will be able to run on Ethanol 100 from Flex Fuel, a renewable biofuel extracted through fermentation of Indian crops – like sugarcane and corn.
