AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2014

Technical innovations by Volkswagen not only impress award committees and automotive journalists on a regular basis; they also impress the Center of Automotive Management (CAM). In its latest independent analysis, it rated the Wolfsburg-based company a winner in no less than four categories. The main award of the 2014 AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards, which is the award in the category of “Most innovative automotive company”, went to Volkswagen for the fourth consecutive time. The company was also named the world’s best manufacturer in the “Conventional drives”, “Alternative drives” and “Networked vehicle” categories. The award, which has become a mainstay in the industry, was presented to Dirk Isgen, Head of Development Concepts, today in Frankfurt.

In a CAM study conducted in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) AG WPG, the Volkswagen Group was named the world’s most innovative automotive company once again this year. For years now, the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS study has been identifying future trends and innovation profiles of global automotive companies based on technical innovations in vehicles. In their official rationale for selecting Volkswagen for the most innovative company award, CAM and PwC stated: “The number of innovations at the company further increased to nearly 230 this year. Volkswagen impressed us with an enormous range of innovations in all technological fields and with several highly innovative brands in the Group.”

The Volkswagen Group also secured the award for best manufacturer in the “Conventional drives” category. The study praised such optimisation measures as downsizing in combination with turbocharging and cylinder deactivation. 50 per cent of powertrain innovations also enabled early fulfilment of the EU6 emissions standard.

The Volkswagen Group won in the “Alternative drives” category as well. Along with hybrid models from Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen, the Group also offers numerous natural gas powered models. The study also noted that the Group had launched extremely energy-efficient all-electric cars during the evaluation period in the form of the e-up! (1) and the e-Golf (2). The study identified the most powerful innovation as the Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid (3), which is the first plug-in hybrid in the premium class.

The CAM study emphasised that the trend towards networking is driven by the broader range of electric car products. The role of the Volkswagen Group as a frontrunner in the “Networked vehicle” category was also verified in the study: “Volkswagen has introduced a very large number of innovations with 62 innovations this year, which is twice as many as in the prior year. An example is that electric cars can now be monitored and programmed remotely. Live traffic services also continue to make their way into the various vehicle classes.”

The Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch-Gladbach is an independent institute for empirical research on automotive and mobility issues, and it conducts the extensive study together with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) AG WPG. This year’s analysis covered 18 global automotive companies and a total of 53 brands.

e-up! power consumption in kWh/100 km: 11.7 (combined); CO2 emission in g/km: 0 (combined); efficiency class: A+
e-Golf power consumption in kWh/100 km: 12.7 (combined); CO2 emission in g/km: 0 (combined); efficiency class: A+
Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid fuel consumption in l/100 km: 3,1 (combined), power consumption in kWh/100km: 16,2 (combined), CO2-Emission in g/km: 71 (combined), efficiency class: A+