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Automotive Innovation Awards – Volkswagen dethrones Mercedes

The Center of Automotive Management (CAM), together with PricewaterhouseCoopers Germany (PwC), closely examines outstanding innovations from manufacturers and suppliers worldwide. For the first time, a Chinese company, Geely, has made it onto the podium.

The most innovative automobile manufacturers and suppliers are awarded. | Photo: PwC
The most innovative automobile manufacturers and suppliers are awarded. | Photo: PwC
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Thomas Kanzler

How well the automotive industry will manage the upcoming transformation will largely depend on its capacity for innovation. But how innovative are the global automobile manufacturers and suppliers? Since 2005, CAM has been determining this within the framework of the Automotive Innovations Study. Based on a comprehensive data set of over 1,000 innovations annually, CAM, together with the auditing and consulting firm PwC, awards the most innovative corporations, brands, and products in the automotive industry – this year for the twelfth time.

The decision-making basis for the Automotive Innovations Awards is the annual study based on the innovation database of the Center of Automotive Management. Since 2005, CAM, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel, has been recording the product innovations of global automotive groups and evaluating them according to quantitative and qualitative criteria. For the year 2022/23, CAM analyzed the innovations of 29 global automobile manufacturers and newcomers with around 90 automobile brands. In total, 788 individual OEM innovations were evaluated in the four award categories Electrified Drive, Safety Systems, Interface & Connectivity, and Connected Services. Among these are 237 world premieres. Criteria such as maturity, originality, customer benefit, and degree of innovation were included in the evaluation.

Corporate Ranking: Volkswagen Ahead of Mercedes-Benz and Geely

In the latest ranking, Volkswagen AG wins the title of the most innovative automotive group and is also recognized as the Volkswagen brand in two other categories. With an index value of 153, the Wolfsburg-based company takes first place, pushing last year’s winner, Mercedes-Benz Group, to second place with 142 points. In third place, for the first time, is a Chinese group, Geely (131). Another company from the Middle Kingdom, SAIC (97), also makes it among the high performers, followed by Ford (96) in fifth place.

“Volkswagen was able to reclaim the top spot because the group has developed many world-first innovations in almost all technology areas, which are already available in series production above average,” comments Felix Kuhnert, Automotive Leader at PwC Germany. “What is remarkable, however, is that six Chinese companies are now among the top 15 most innovative automakers. The catch-up race by the Chinese players in terms of innovation strength increases the pressure on the previous frontrunners,” adds the PwC expert.

Mercedes-Benz Leads Among Premium Brands

Among the premium brands, Mercedes-Benz is once again clearly at the top: The Stuttgart-based brand has consistently occupied the first place in this category since 2018. BMW follows in second place, and Tesla in third.

“The clear focus of Mercedes-Benz in 2022 is electric drive, with many consumption and range records in the respective segments,” summarizes study leader Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel. “But here, too, the strategy of Chinese manufacturers to compete with established brands not only in volume but also in the premium sector is evident. Five Chinese brands with a premium claim are among the top 10.”

Mercedes is also leading in two other categories among the most innovative premium brands: in the "E-Cars" sector and in the "Interface and Connectivity" innovations. The "Autonomous Driving & ADAS" category is led by BMW among premium brands. As one of the few German brands, BMW already offers Level 2+ autonomous driving in the USA, where drivers only need to supervise the vehicle. Audi secures the top spot in the premium ranking for "Connected Services." In collaboration with the provider 4.screen, Audi offers a groundbreaking world first: customers can view location-based offers directly in their car and navigate to them.

Ford awarded as the most innovative volume brand

Among volume manufacturers, long-time winner VW loses its top spot and is overtaken by Ford – the company becomes the most innovative volume brand for the first time since 2014. One of the success factors according to the study: the high balance of innovative strength in the most important technology fields. Toyota ranks third among volume brands – the best placement for the Japanese brand since 2013. Ford also takes the top spot in the categories "Connected Services" and "Autonomous Driving & ADAS" among volume brands.

In the field of electric drives, VW lands in first place. The Wolfsburg-based company scores primarily with improved charging performance for faster recharging. The winner in "Interface and Connectivity" among volume brands is also Volkswagen. An interesting innovation from VW's subfield "Cyber Security" is specially secured chips against odometer manipulation. In the Interface area, VW extends the functionalities of the augmented reality display.

The most innovative model is the Mercedes-Benz EQE

Mercedes-Benz not only wins the award for the most innovative corporation but also prevails with the EQE as the most innovative model of the year 2023. One reason for this success: The Stuttgart-based company has succeeded in transferring many interface and connectivity innovations as world firsts into the upper middle-class segment. But the electric drive of the EQE also proves to be highly innovative with its range. In second place among the most innovative models is also a Mercedes model, the new EQS SUV; third place goes to the Chinese SAIC brand Rising Auto with the R7. That a podium place in this ranking goes to a Chinese brand is also a first.

Awards for suppliers CATL, ZF, Michelin, and Nvidia

As part of the study, 300 original innovations from the 100 largest automotive suppliers were also evaluated. For the most outstanding innovations, the Automotive Innovation Awards are presented in four categories by an expert jury. In the field of drives, CATL was able to prevail with an innovation in the "E-Car Battery" sector, ahead of BASF and Bosch in second and third place.

Michelin is the winner in the "Chassis, Body & Exterior" category with the resource-saving tire, which helps reduce the automotive industry's ecological footprint and achieve sustainability goals. Hyundai Mobis and Bosch follow.

ZF convinces in the award category "Autonomous Driving and Driver Assistance Systems" with a "4D radar." With this technology, vehicles can detect pedestrians within a range of 350 meters. Bosch also comes in second place in this category, followed by Harman.

The most innovative innovation in the "Interior and Interface" sector in 2023 comes from Nvidia. With the introduction of Nvidia DRIVE Thor, the company has created a pioneering central computer for safe and reliable autonomous vehicles. Grupo Antolin comes in second place in this category, followed by Vector in third place.

What does that mean?

The Automotive Innovation Award celebrates the most innovative companies. However, one gets the feeling from the ranking that the innovative strength of German companies might either be overestimated or not adequately recognized in the market. Many of the German manufacturers are losing more and more ground in international markets.

Translated automatically from German.
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