In this article, I put together all the brands that did not rent space in the halls of the Frankfurt exhibition site. Their reasons may vary, but most of them were located in the Agora, the square that connects the Heritage Hall 4, Merc’s and VW’s hall.
A few years ago Audi used to build here a temporary pavilion more impressive than many of the exhibition halls, but those were different times.
This year the majority of the Agora was occupied by an off-road test track, surrounded by smaller entertainment centres like simulators or a kart tracks.
In addition to those, some brands set up smaller tents partly to support the main act in the hall, but for others, this was actually the main act.
Polestar
This year, Volvo (okay Polestar, I still have to get used to that) takes their new Polestar 2 model on the road, offering a chance to get close and personal with the car.
Additionally, experts are brought in to answer questions. Here I recall so many stories from past shows about hosts of several brands not knowing much about the cars they were guarding, so bringing experts is actually quite a thing. The press leaflets explicitly mention enthusiasts as a target group, that I consider a clear aspiration for market expansion.
This campaign touring around a few European countries is the replacement for Volvo’s earlier show presence. This approach requires fewer resources and brings the premier closer to customers. To some extent, as I missed the one on Brussels, due to a rather inconvenient timing and location (a few weekdays at a spot I would not drive during working hours). On the German roadshow, the Frankfurt station was at the IAA, so the cube found itself smack in the middle of Agora, and I could finally catch up with the Polestar 2.
The white cube is quite simple, but one can conclude that it was meant to be that way. The white background effectively highlights the colour and material samples, and screens where you can configure cars to your liking. The discrete decoration includes technical specifications and components adorn on the walls, to create a travelling version of Polestar headquarters. Almost forgot, they also had great coffee!
As far as the car is concerned, I was not aware of test cars, so I had to make good with the usual seat probe. This should already be sufficient to get a feeling of the interior and the infotainment system.
I am not saying that the simple black textile interior would blow me off my feet, but if Polestar hurries up, they might still get a significant amount of the future market segment.
The Polestar 2 could casually position itself between the Model 3 and the ID.3 (soon direct competition will be possible, for now, most cars try to position themselves in distinct niches).
McLaren punching above its weight
McLaren came up with an elegant glass cage holding two brand new special versions, not like a McLaren would count as a common sight anywhere outside the Middle East.
The super-light McLaren GT was unveiled for Frankfurt, adding a more practical McLaren to the Grand Tourer segment.
The distinctive element of the GT is the considerably larger boot with matching luggage available for style-conscious customers.
With this car, McLaren aims to combine an addictive driving feel with comfort and plenty of room for luggage.
From the technical side, the GT shares platform with the 700 series, and thus the Speedtail, thus McLaren is entering the classic coachbuilder path with noble versions sharing common high-end technical platforms.
The other car was an exciting blue roadster with a somewhat bland (but hopefully waterproof) black interior.
With this air of aces in the Agora, I believe McLaren stroke the right balance between participation and efficient use of resources.
Renault – good times gone
The picture below shows the entire participation of the Renault company, the once driving force behind the world’s largest car conglomerate as of sales 2018. While the ownership structure of the Alliance has never been easy to untangle Renault (owning and capitalised by Nissan) enjoyed the benefits of the upper hand since the forming of the Alliance. Unfortunately, it turned out that real driving force was a single person, and that single person is now prevented from taking the helm. This is clearly reflected by the vague approach of Renault in Frankfurt.
Renault announced the world premiere of the new Renault Captur. A model that is the most important car of the brand in terms of European sales. It also plays a crucial role in the future performance of the brand. Despite the above, the Captur only received a small outside podium, that I only noticed by the end of the day.
Renault also added a special event with Renault CEO Thierry Bolloré and Renault Design Director Laurens van den Acker. I conclude from the above that the intention was there, but the efforts foreshadowed a dire future with extreme cost awareness.
