Downsizing at Geneva motor show

Geneva witnessed two trends in downsizing this year. First there are the new smaller brothers of huge cars like Volkswagen’s SUV, the Touareg. Secondly, there is the extremely downsized class. The smart fortwo will get serious competion after the presentation in Geneva of the iQ, Toyota’s new urban car. Within under 3 metres length, the iQ can sit 3+1 persons.

Small, smaller, Nano
Let’s start with the second trend, extreme downsizing. The smallest – and cheapest – five-door car presented at the show this year, was the Tata Nano. This ‘people’s car’ as it is nicknamed, was build with the large Indian population in mind, especially the people using one motorcycle to transport their entire family. It had to be cheap, as half of India’s population of 1.1 billion has to scrape by on a daily income of less than 1.5 euros. Luckily for the environment, the Nano also had to be fuel-efficient, as fuel prices don’t get any lower in India as well as in the rest of the world.

Huge amounts of cars being introduced in India, may sound detrimental to the environment. The truth is, the motorcycles they are supposed to replace are far worse than cars in terms of air quality.

SUV or retro
Economic reasons, be it not such poverty as in India, inspire people to buy small cars in the West as well. High fuel prices and environmental regulations like extra taxation on particularly fuel-inefficient cars, can cause consumers to choose fuel-efficient cars. But many people still feel that a smaller car is threatens their image.

One possible answer to this problem is the first of the two trends mentioned earlier: a fuel-efficient SUV. The Volkswagen Tiguan, for example, looks like a smaller version of the Touareg, but is less polluting. At the 2007 Bibendum Challenge in Shanghai a prototype of the Tiguan HyMotion was presented, with fuel cell and electric motor.

Another answer to the image problem of smaller and/or fuel-efficient cars, is to maintain the ‘luxurious’ aspect of old-fashioned car design, and combine the latest fuel-efficient technology with retro looks. Volkswagen reintroduced a Euro-V regulations compliant version of its 1974 Scirocco sportscar at this year’s Geneva motor show.

Safety first
This year’s marketing is all about safety, so safety was important at the international motor show as well. It is the aspect people like about SUVs, so if people can be made to feel just as safe in greener cars, they could actually be persuaded to buy into fuel-efficiency.

Although it won’t win over many SUV-lovers, stressing safety is smart’s new strategy as well. In showrooms in the United States the company displays the vehicle’s safety cage. It’s not just the midi-SUV class that appeals to the customer’s sense of safety. This is one of the few things the extremely downsized class has in common with SUVs.