2017 Frankfurt Motor Show: Electric and hybrid cars showcased, major carmakers shun the event

If you're one of the lucky ones attending the ongoing Frankfurt Motor Show or someone reading the updates on a tablet, you must have seen a lot of details on electric vehicles. Electric as well as hybrid cars are the focus of one of the world's biggest auto shows, the International Motor Show in Germany. Manufacturers like Mercedes-AMG with the Project One have showcased hyper sportscars with hybrid tech and the car is capable of going well over 350kmph. It boasts four electric motors and an internal combustion petrol engine which have a combined output of over 1,000PS. Then there is Volkswagen which had the brilliant I.D. Crozz  SUV concept that is fully electric and can go 600km on a full charge. It is expected to be in the market  by 2020 and will be 'affordable' according to electric car standards. The outlandish Audi Aicon 2+2 concept too was showcased and it too boasts four electric motors placed on top of each of axles. The car claims a range of almost 700km and has got bespoke interiors fir to take on the uber luxurious Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet. All these manufacturers are looking to scrap out the conventional powered vehicles as early as 2030. That's roughly 12 years from now. The widespread research being done to make the electric technology available on a global scale is gaining steam. Manufacturers are pumping in millions of Euros for this research and some are even joining forces for electrification of vehicles. Recently, Fiat-Chrysler and BMW shook hands over future autonomous vehicles. It's no secret that autonomous and electric vehicles are expected to go hand in hand in the future, reducing the stress on fossil fuels as well as us human beings.

This is the Mercedes-AMG Project One, a new Mercedes that derives a whole stack of new ideas from the Mercedes F1 car

Jaguar recently announced that they will be rolling out electric vehicles from 2020. To this very effect, the manufacturer unveiled its Future-Type as well as i-Pace models, both electric vehicles that are expected to bring in new technology as well as mass appeal. Speaking of which, Jaguar didn't show the i-Pace at the Frankfurt Show which is a bummer given that the SUV was an eagerly awaited entrant. Reports say that the order books for the Jaguar i-Pace are already full for the next two years and so the manufacturer decided to dedicate it's resources and attention to other cars in the lineup. All of the aforementioned cars look on take the mighty Tesla Model 3, out of which only the Jaguar is expected to undercut the American manufacturer's price tag by a small yet significant amount. Manufacturers like Fiat, Peugeot, Volvo and Nissan aren't a part of the 50 carmaker strong army that displayed their vehicles at the Frankfurt Auto Show this year. It's not that  they don't have any products in the line-up but for the simple reason that autoshows take up a lot of time and energy. The biggest reason though is the expense involved in shipping the prototypes, exhibiting them for some days and paying for the use of display area as well as other resources. A huge workforce too is diverted into these shows, thereby adding to the cost as well as efficiency in regular operations.  Instead, they prefer to just unveil their vehicles online, which works out to be the most affordable as well as has widespread appeal.

The I-Pace is powered by two electric motors, one on the front and one on the rear, giving it All-Wheel Drive (AWD) capability. It will be the first electric SUV to be launched by the manufacturer

Oh, and we too are covering the Frankfurt Motor Show like always. Both from ground zero as well as on our website. So, remember to plug in to our Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram as well as website for all the updates.

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