The Car of the Future

The pollution caused by the global growth in road traffic is creating increasing environmental damage. Today, 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions already stem from the exhausts of automobiles and trucks. Yet people’s desire for individual mobility will remain unchecked in the future. How are carmakers responding to this challenge? This question is answered by Professor Dr. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Director of the Center of Automotive Research at the University of Applied Sciences in Gelsenkirchen.

The predominant propulsion system in 2020 will continue to be the internal combustion engine, supported by hybrid systems. Diesel and petrol engines still have a great future ahead of them. However, this dividing line will no longer exist. Engine developers working at suppliers and manufacturers are already designing engines that will run on both types of fuel and combine the clean burn of a petrol engine with the economy of a diesel engine.

Nonetheless, environmentally concerned drivers regard the hybrid engine as a kind of wonder weapon. What makes the combined electric motor and internal combustion engine such an interesting proposition?

Above all, its energy-saving potential in urban traffic. That is where the hybrid can use a lot of braking energy to charge the battery. The electricity generated in that way powers the electric motor and thus substantially reduces fuel consumption. Furthermore, hybrids significantly cut all the various types of emissions in urban traffic. When you look at long-distance journeys and motorway traffic, however, diesel engines remain unbeatable. The problems with hybrid technology are high costs and extra weight. In addition to the electric motor itself, a hybrid car needs a set of batteries, which also cost money. These are the reasons that currently prevent hybrids making a major breakthrough, as the sale figures clearly demonstrate: last year, approximately 57 million cars were sold worldwide, but only 380,000 of them had hybrid engines.

Focus On Africa

Africa was one of the major topics at the G8 summit held under German presidency in Heiligendamm in June this year. In the coming years the leading industrialized nations and Russia want to provide 60 billion dollars (44.5 billion euros) solely for the fight against infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. It was mainly foreign observers who interpreted the fact that Germany had given Africa such a central place on the G8 agenda as a prioritization of the continent in German foreign policy. In fact, Africa is playing an increasingly greater role in German policy. Until the end of the 1990s it was the generally accepted view that Germany had no economic and strategic interests in Africa and was only involved there primarily for moral and altruistic reasons. Africa policy was largely centred in the field of development policy. There are five main reasons that have led to a reappraisal of Africa's role. Two of them, however, are only rather indirectly connected with the continent itself: first, the expansion of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) of the European Union and, second, the development of a new understanding of Germany's role in international relations. Germany has always advocated a strengthening of both the CFSP and ESDP – and France and Great Britain, but also Portugal and a number of other European Union countries view Africa as a prime region for a common foreign and security policy. Historical ties play a role in this, but so do the fact that the EU countries easily reach consensus in their Africa policy. This is strengthened further by the emerging new role perception of German foreign policy. Shaping the global order and global processes is increasingly viewed as one of its primary tasks.

© Deutschland magazine

10 Reasons to Invest in Germany

1. Large Market With 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the European Union’s most populous country and therefore also the largest market within the EU. With a gross domestic product of more than 2.2 trillion euros, Germany is the largest economy in Europe and the third strongest economy in the world.

2. Central Location Germany’s central location in Europe make it a hub for goods and services. Germany is especially benefiting from EU enlargement. As a result, it is the only country among the seven most important industrialized nations to increase its share of world trade since 1995.

3. Open Market Germany is an open market and warmly welcomes foreign investors. That is demonstrated by the 22,000 foreign enterprises that have established businesses in Germany and now employ more than 2.7 million people. The German market is open to entrepreneurial investment in practically all areas. There are no longer any state-controlled industries. Germany is receiving increasing attention from private equity firms and hedge funds due to its highly attractive companies and favourable investment conditions.

4. International Location More than 7 million foreigners live in Germany. Several metropolitan regions have prominent foreign communities with their own schools, churches, shops and restaurants. For example, a large number of Japanese live in the Düsseldorf region, many Koreans in and around Frankfurt and many Chinese in Hamburg. Approximately 70% of German blue- and white-collar workers can speak English.

5. Qualified Personnel Germany offers an exceptionally well-qualified, motivated and conscientious workforce. German employees’ high standard of knowledge and skills is internationally recognized. The demand for professionals is met by 383 institutions of higher education. Another pillar of the German training system is the “dual system” of vocational education, which combines workplace training and school instruction and produces an acknowledged high standard of training closely oriented towards the needs of industry.

6. High Level of Innovation Statistically, Germany has 277 international patents per one million inhabitants – more than anywhere else in the world. The close cooperation between industry and world-famous research institutions like the Max Planck and Fraunhofer Institutes swiftly transforms new ideas into products for the world market.

7. Highly Developed Infrastructure Germany has a closely knit network of roads, railways and international airports. That guarantees swift connections. The airport in Frankfurt is an international hub. The Port of Hamburg is one of largest container transshipment centres in Europe. Communications infrastructure is exceptionally well-developed throughout the country.

8. Legal Security Germany is a modern constitutional state with transparent and reasonable laws. The advantages are internationally recognized. The German legal system has served as a model for legal systems in many other countries. International studies demonstrate that German legal security is highly regarded by investors. Among all countries, Germany ranks fourth in terms of legal security.

9. Strong Mittelstand The German economy is characterized by privately owned small and medium-sized firms, the Mittelstand. 85% of all businesses are small or medium-sized. This makes German industry very flexible, multifaceted and competitive. Many of these highly specialized firms are world market leaders in their field, so-called “hidden champions”.

10. World-Famous Trademark Products with the “Made in Germany” seal stand for the highest quality worldwide. This has played no small part in maintaining Germany’s position as world champion exporter for many years. The automobile, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and chemical sectors are particularly strong. Industries of the future such as environmentally friendly energy production and nanotechnology, in which the number of patent applications is doubling every two years, are steadily gaining in importance. Foreign investors can profit from the “Made in Germany” seal of quality.

New Models for 2007

Upcoming 2008 & 2009 Car ModelsTake a sneak peek at what the automotive industry has lined up to hit the showroom floor. More...

The all New Toyota Vios

Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMPC) brings a new sense of feeling and vision with the all new Vios passenger car. The introduction of this progressive vehicle that has evolved from its predecessor is a remarkable addition to Toyota’s vehicle line up. With its new developments in both its interior and exterior features, the all new Vios boasts a more ergonomic yet sporty design. The 1.5-liter and 1.3-liter automatic and manual transmission variants are equipped with more enhanced safety and performance features that will surely provide a comfortable yet blissful experience. The All New Vios will be available in the Philippine market by the end of the August of 2007.being sold in the Malaysian market, the Toyota Yaris. Of course, trim level and some other variables are changed here and there with the different regions.
Vios in the Philippines
The first generation model of the Vios was launched in the Philippines in the year 2003. Ever since then, it has yielded an overwhelmingly positive response of being the market leader for the passenger car segment capturing over 45% share of small passenger car, mid and low segments. Its fuel efficient and powerful engine lead to its success in bagging several awards including being the best subcompact sedan from various local car award groups and the 2006 Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Economy Run.
In November of 2005, the Vios was further enhanced with smarter features that helped the model attain an unrivaled position of being the best selling passenger car in the Philippines for the year of 2006. For the same year, garnering 9,406 units sold, it became the second best selling vehicle next to the Innova.
The All New Vios will be locally manufactured in the Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.