While waiting for the algorithm to become the arbiter of the destinies of the car in an increasingly near future, however, there is no protagonist, big or small, of the world of four wheels, who doesn't gear up so as not to be displaced the day of the great technological big bang. Behind the sparkling and contagious euphoria aroused by the many novelties on display – there are no less than 130 – this is what one breathes in the stand of the Palaexpo in Geneva which is opening its doors these days, an exhibition dedicated to great beauty combined with ecological innovation and increasingly sophisticated connection, an exhibition, perhaps the most important in the world, which already today had a preview of the presentation of the Ferrari GTC4, 12-cylinder 690 HP Potenza, one of the great stars of this year's event, heir to the 64 Berlinetta so dear to Enzo Ferrari.
All on the way towards the zero-emission car, ready to equip themselves with the most advanced hi-tech while waiting for the "enemy" to materialize on the field, thatApple or Google Car which we talk about so much, all electric and which will be able to do without not only petrol but also the driver. What earthquake the digital revolution of Silicon Valley has produced in industry of all kinds is there for all to see: in the space of twenty years it has shocked the world of paper publishing, it has bankrupted historical and global brands of photography like Kodak, devouring itself for leadership even within it, from PCs to mobile phones, in a selection process that is constantly evolving and that does not protect any big name from sudden and dramatic events as the Nokia parable teaches.
Even the automobile, while always traveling on tar asphalt, could not fail to be shaken by this impetuous wind of the new, even if it could never have imagined finding itself facing a challenge brought directly by the American silicon giants. Challenge with uncertain outcomes. certainly very expensive. Sergio Marchionne, right from Geneva where he christened the new Ferrari, reiterated that the maneuvers of Apple and Google are a shock for the whole sector. Others like designers Chris Bangle and Giorgetto Giugiaro, see in beauty – and there are plenty of beautiful cars in Geneva – the most natural weapon of a car to counter and balance the excessive power of a technology that dominates the world but which in fact is a new entry having never put hand to a platform to build a car.
But all the historic top players on four wheels are aware that it's not just one war bug. The comparison is unavoidable. Mary Barra, the first woman to lead GM, the manager who said no to Marchionne's courtship for a merger with FCA, is preparing to manage an industry that will change much more over the next five years than it did in the previous fifty years. A change that requires ever greater investments precisely in a decade in which the car had to face the worst crisis of the post-war period, sending most of the budgets into the red regardless of single sensational misadventures such as the dieselgate which has put a big company like Volkswagen in trouble.
The Geneva Motor Show, 200 exhibitors from 30 different countries, is also called upon to certify the exit from the tunnel of the entire sector. And the presence of no less than 130 new models, a historic record in living memory for the Geneva event, is a conclusive test of the renewed confidence, a recovery that is also fueled by the statistical data of 2015 in which a total of almost 14 million cars with an increase of 2% on 9,2. Not only that, the 2014th consecutive increase was marked in January with an improvement of 29%. And from one of the most important observatories in the world such as the Geneva Motor Show, it emerges that the models to which the manufacturers in particular entrust their relaunch are the SUVs, the segment that is marking an extraordinary escalation in public tastes. Proof of this in 6,3 was the historic overtaking of Sport utility vehicle sales over traditional models such as sedans, small cars or city cars.
In Europe, 3,2 million were sold, marking a growth of 24% compared to 2014 and reaching a market share of 22,5%, against 19,8% of the previous year. And in Geneva the new SUVs take the lion's share with debuts that enter the history of some manufacturers as in the case of the Levante for Maserati, whose production has been concentrated since the beginning of March in the Mirafiori plant in Turin. And it is on the small new generation SUVs that VW also seems to be focusing a lot. The German house is presented in Geneva in more sober tones than in the past but determined to get back on top soon. Two strong points from Wolfsburg: one is the long-awaited Audi Q2, the first mini-crossover from the house with the four rings, an absolute novelty among the B-segment SUVs of a German "premium" brand. The other ace to be revealed is the Ateca, the first Seat-branded SUV. Two little toys on which Mathias Muller, the new head of the group, counts a lot to definitively turn the page after the ugly one of the rigged emissions that cost so much for the image and the coffers of the "Beetle" house.
